China rejects all measures aimed at fueling tensions regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, told TASS.

“What China provides to Ukraine are much-needed humanitarian supplies such as food, baby formula, sleeping bags, quilts and damp-proof mats,” he said. “In contrast, what the US provides to Ukraine are lethal weapons.”

“China supports all efforts that are conducive to easing the situation and political settlement. And China opposes actions like fanning the flame or adding fuel to the fire that may escalate the situation and are counterproductive to political resolution,” the diplomat continued.

According to Liu Pengyu, Beijing stands for the promotion of negotiations and holds a constructive stance regarding a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

“There are complex historical merits on the Ukraine issue,” he said. “China has been independently making its decisions and expounding on its positions with an objective and just attitude based on the merits of the matter itself.”

“China is not a party directly related to the issue, but it has been committed to promoting peace talks and playing a constructive role in pursuing peaceful settlement of the crisis,” according to the diplomat.

“Our just position and constructive efforts, witnessed by all, have received the understanding and support of the international community, especially the vast developing world,” Liu Pengyu added.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.

Russian President Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

After that, the United States, the EU and some other countries announced that they were imposing sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses.

Russia needs to compensate in a short term period about 40-45% of its import deficit, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview.

“We are now even feeling a little bit better than one would think,” CNN quoted Peskov as saying in English.

“Of course, we understand our problems, we understand that in a very short time we will have to compensate the quite a significant decrease in more than 40%-45% in imports,” he continued.

Peskov stressed that “unprecedented” economic sanctions imposed by the West on Russia were aimed to bring “the crucial effect” but it “didn’t happen.”

“In order to reorganize imports, we have to reorganize the direction of imports. To compensate for the western direction, by increasing imports from the eastern direction,” he added.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.

Russian President Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

After that, the United States, the EU and some other countries announced that they were imposing sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, June 17.

Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated earlier that the main event with Putin’s participation will be the forum’s plenary session, scheduled for June 17. The Russian leader will deliver a speech and answer questions from participants. The event is scheduled to continue for two hours.

According to Peskov, the president’s speech “will be extremely important.” “Economies were taken hostage by politics, and politicians in many countries made a colossal number of mistakes amid the coronavirus,” the Kremlin spokesman said, as he called the situation “an ideal systemic storm.”

Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters earlier in the week that Putin would give assessments to the situation in global policy and economy in his speech at the plenary session and share the assessment of trends in forming the multipolar economic model.

Traditionally, Putin will meet with foreign leaders, and the schedule of those talks will be relatively intense, despite the complicated global situation. The Russian leader will meet with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik. Talks with them are scheduled for June 17, according to the Kremlin. At the same time, no separate meetings with the heads of the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR), Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, are on the president’s schedule.

Some usual events will be changed to respond to present-day realities. For example, Putin’s traditional meeting with heads of global news agencies will not take place. Instead, he will meet with military correspondents, heads of news divisions, as well as the chiefs of Russian TV, print, and Internet media. Most of the meeting will be held behind closed doors.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum organized by the Roscongress Foundation is running from June 15 to 18. This year’s forum is dubbed: ‘New Opportunities in a New World’. The SME Forum, the Creative Business Forum, the Drug Security Forum, the SPIEF Junior Dialogue and SPIEF Sport Week are also going to be part of the SPIEF event. TASS serves as the event’s official photo hosting agency and the information partner.

Russia is not hindering food exports from Ukraine, while authorities in Kiev are blocking cargo vessels from leaving their ports in the Black Sea, Russia’s US Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said.

“Russia is not trying to impede Ukrainian food exports. We understand very well the importance of resuming supplies to the countries in need. But the departure of merchant vessels from the Black Sea ports is hampered by the Kiev authorities’ actions,” Antonov stated in his article published by The National Interest magazine.

The ambassador stated that it was a decision of authorities from Kiev “to install around 420 mines” adding that “due to their outdated construction, their anchors often fall off, which only increases their danger.”

According to him, Russia resorts to all necessary measures to restore the maritime navigation.

“Russia is taking measures to support civilian shipping. The port of Mariupol has been cleaned up and has resumed its operations,” Antonov said. “Since March, the Russian Navy has been organizing daily humanitarian corridors from the territorial waters of Ukraine to the Bosporus Strait. The detailed coordinates have been made public.”

The Russian diplomat also expressed gratitude to Turkey for its assistance in providing safety for the maritime navigation.

“We are grateful to our Turkish partners for their attention to the issue of restoring food deliveries across the Black Sea and for the readiness demonstrated by Ankara to search for solutions,” he noted.

“Success can only be achieved provided that Ukrainian authorities agree to cooperate on the matter constructively. They should start by removing the mines they set,” Antonov added.

The ambassador also said that the port of Odessa was not the only one that can serve for the transportation of cargoes from Ukraine.

“In addition to Odessa, we see several more ways to organize the delivery of Ukrainian products abroad,” Antonov said. “For example, by using the infrastructure on the Azov Sea. We are ready to facilitate the smooth export of grain from the ports under our control.”

“There are also opportunities to use transport corridors through Poland, Romania, and Belarus. The only thing that the latter—and by far the easiest in terms of practical implementation – option requires is a sanctions lift on Belarusian fertilizers,” he added.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow guaranteed the unobstructed passage of vessels containing Ukrainian grain if Kiev clears mines from its ports and can guarantee the exports through the ports controlled by Russia, such as Berdyansk and Mariupol.

According to the Russian leader, Ukraine may also export grain by land with Belarus being the most logical route yet in order to do so, Western sanctions imposed on that East European country must be lifted. The Russian president also reiterated that problems on the global food market started as early as February 2020. He dismissed statements that Russia was allegedly blocking grain in Ukrainian ports as mere bluffing.