BEIJING: Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called on China to stop its economic support of Russia’s war in Ukraine and urged Beijing to join European and US efforts to pressure President Vladimir Putin into a ceasefire during an interview. Tsahkna met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other officials during a two-day visit to Beijing, the first by an Estonian foreign minister in a decade, in which Russian aggression against Europe and trade were high on the agenda.
“China says that they are not part of this military conflict but I was very clear that China has huge leverage over Russia, every week more and more, because the Russian economy is weak,” Tsahkna said. US President Donald Trump said he would “work together” with China’s President Xi Jinping to end the war in Ukraine after meeting in South Korea last week. “President Trump said as well that this pressure (on Russia) is very important, that China should join. And I think that China can do a lot if it joined the pressure on Russia to finish the war,” Tsahkna added. — Reuters
