China had chance to encourage Russia to de-escalate Ukraine crisis, says US official

Washington [US], February 5 : The US on Friday said China had a chance to encourage Russia to de-escalate tensions regarding the situation with Ukraine and that is what the world community expects from responsible world powers, reported Sputnik.
Senior US State Department official Daniel Kritenbrink conveyed on Friday that Beijing could have played a role to de-escalate mounting tensions along the Ukraine border as Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The meeting should have provided China the opportunity to encourage Russia to pursue diplomacy and de-escalation in Ukraine, that is what the world expects from responsible powers," said Kritenbrink on Friday with respect to the meeting between Putin and Xi.
The officials also said the joint Russia-China statement announced earlier in the day reflects the approach both countries have taken for some time to work more closely together.
"I think it is fair to say the meeting between President Putin and President Xi and the joint Russia-China statement reflects an approach that both countries have already taken for some time, mainly to move closer together," said Kritenbrink during a telephone briefing on Friday.
In a joint statement earlier in the day, Russia and China said they oppose further enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and called on the alliance to abandon its ideologically-charged Cold War approach, according to Sputnik.