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By Shane Croucher and John Feng
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China said it opposes unilateral sanctions without a basis in international law or United Nations Security Council authorization as it responded to the Trump administration's latest measures against Russia's two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft.
Beijing's response was given by Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, at a regular press briefing on Thursday. His remarks were reported by the Global Times, a state-run publication in China, and paraphrased in English.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil on Wednesday to add greater pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine after the Kremlin made clear it would not agree to a ceasefire as proposed by President Donald Trump.
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Trump had said China, Russia's key strategic partner and the main purchaser of its oil, could exert greater influence over the Kremlin's decision-making on Ukraine.
Oil purchases sustain Moscow's war economy in spite of punishing Western sanctions
Guo said that "dialogue and negotiation are the only feasible ways to resolve the Ukraine crisis, rather than coercion and pressure," according to the Global Times.
Trump Will Raise Russia-Ukraine With China's Xi
At a White House meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, Trump told reporters that he thinks Chinese President Xi Jinping "could have a big influence" on Russian President Vladimir Putin "and we will certainly be talking about Russia-Ukraine" when the two leaders next meet.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Trump for the latest U.S. sanctions on Russian oil. The European Union followed up with approval of its own 19th package of sanctions hitting Russian oil and gas, and its "shadow fleet" of commercial vessels.
Zelensky said in a Thursday post on X, formerly Twitter, that the sanctions "are a clear signal that prolonging the war and spreading terror come at a cost. And this is a fair and absolutely deserved step. It is precisely pressure on Russia that will be effective for achieving peace, and sanctions are one of its key components."
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"I thank @POTUS and the entire American team for this resolute and well-targeted decision. It is a strong and much-needed message that aggression will not go unanswered," Zelensky continued. "A reliable and lasting peace has no alternative. I thank everyone who understands this and works with us to defend lives and restore justice."
But Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy chairman to Putin on the Kremlin's Security Council, called the U.S. sanctions move and the cancellation of the Trump-Putin summit an "act of war" against Russia.
Medvedev, a former president and prime minister of Russia, said Trump's U.S. is now an "enemy" and that Moscow could fight on to victory on the battlefield in Ukraine without needing to negotiate an end to the war through diplomacy.
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