China slams sanctions as power politics at UNSC meet
November 26, 2014, 6:19 am

Jürgen Stock (centre right), Secretary General of INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization), speaks with Jeffrey Feltman (centre left), Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, at the Security Council meeting on general issues relating to sanctions on 25th November 2014 [Image: UNSC]

Wang Min, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said priority should be given to mediation and negotiations and that sanctions can be imposed only after “every other non-coercive means is exhausted”.

“Sanctions should not be a tool of a country in the pursuit of power politics. The domestic law of one country should not become the basis for sanctions against other states,” said Wang in an apparent jibe at the United States.

“China is against the practice of imposing sanctions on other countries on the basis of one’s domestic law,” he added.

Noting that sanctions are not the goal, but the means, Wang said UNSC sanctions must help the overall political settlement of the crisis and that the formulation, implementation and enforcement of sanctions must meet the needs of the political settlement.

The Russian government has said the cost of Western sanctions to Russia’s economy will amount to $40 billion a year. The EU and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia following its annexation of the Russian-speaking region of Crimea and its alleged backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

China’s statement at the UNSC meet on Tuesday will provide relief and support for Russian President Vladimir Putin as he tries to avoid isolation over the sanctions.

Russia and China have signed a raft of big energy, trade and finance agreements this year deepening economic ties. Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States are showing no signs of lifting sanctions on Moscow with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying on Tuesday that the sanctions are “still inevitable”.

Under the UN Charter, the Security Council can take enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures range from economic and other sanctions not involving the use of armed force to international military action.

Currently, 15 UN sanctions regimes are in place – the highest number in the history of the organization – at a cost of under $30 million a year to manage.

TBP and Agencies