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(CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday again called for Russia to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine -- and warned of further isolation and "costs" if Moscow doesn't respond to the West's call for a change of course. Obama: U.S. and Europe united over Ukraine crisis - CNN.com
"China does not have any private interests in the Ukraine question," Xi told a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "All parties involved should work for a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict." China has adopted a cautious response to the Ukraine crisis, not wanting to alienate its ally Russia or make comment directly on a referendum in which Crimea voted to join Russia, lest it set a precedent for restive regions of its own such as Tibet.
In an U.N. Security Council vote earlier this month on a draft resolution to condemn the Moscow-backed referendum in Crimea, China's abstention effectively isolated Russia. "If I were Russia, I would not be satisfied with the number of votes in favor of Russia," said Merkel, who despite her country's close trade ties with Moscow and heavy reliance on Russia gas exports has backed European Union and U.S. sanctions. The chancellor, who has tried to use her influence on Russia President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate the crisis, called the U.N. vote a clear sign "that the international community is not very happy with what Russia has done". China has signaled understanding for Russia's position, saying what is happening "has historical reasons". Chinese state media has also expressed sympathy for Moscow.
DELICATE DIPLOMACY
But China has also said it wants to develop "friendly cooperation" with Ukraine. Its foreign ministry said this week Beijing would play a "constructive role" on international financial aid for Ukraine, though it stopped short of saying whether Beijing would participate directly. "We support the constructive efforts the international community has made to de-escalate the situation and are open to any concepts which serve to calm the situation and to bring about a political solution," Xi said in Berlin. "The Chinese side always respects the principles of international relations and non-intervention in the internal business of other states," he said. The Chinese leader's first visit to Germany since becoming president last year saw the signature of business deals that will add to bilateral trade that was worth about 140 billion euros last year.
But business considerations did not prevent Merkel from publicly raising China's patchy record on human rights and free speech with the visiting president. "Broad and free expression of opinion is of course a very important element to promote the creativity of a society, be it in research, culture or civil society," said the chancellor. There was no official comment on reports that Xi might visit a monument to the Holocaust in Berlin during his visit. China likes to contrast Germany's profound atonement for its World War Two atrocities with what it sees as Japan's reluctance to do so. Ties between the Asian rivals took a turn for the worse in December last year when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a Tokyo shrine China sees as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past because it honors wartime leaders and millions of war dead. But Xi did use a speech in Berlin on Friday evening to recall Japan's wartime invasion of the Chinese city of Nanjing and say that such atrocities "are still fresh in our memory".
China takes no sides on Ukraine crisis, Xi tells Europe | Reuters
It was believed to have been the first direct conversation between Obama and Putin since the United States and its European allies began imposing sanctions on Putin's inner circle and threatened to penalize key sectors of Russia's economy. Russia's reinforcement of troops near Ukraine has brought the total forces there to as many as 40,000, U.S. officials estimated on Friday in a build-up that has increasingly worried Washington in recent days. The White House noted specifically that it was Putin who called Obama, who is ending a four-country trip in Saudi Arabia and had just returned to his Riyadh hotel after talks with King Abdullah.
Putin called to discuss a U.S. proposal for a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine crisis, which Secretary of State John Kerry again presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting at The Hague earlier this week. The United States has been pressing Russia to pull back its troops to their Crimean bases and agree to talks with the Ukrainian government with international mediation. International monitors would go into Ukraine to assure that the ethnic Russian minority there is safe. "President Obama suggested that Russia put a concrete response in writing and the presidents agreed that Kerry and Lavrov would meet to discuss next steps," the White House said.
A senior Obama administration official described the call as "frank and direct," and said the next step is the Kerry-Lavrov follow-up discussions to see whether the Russians are serious about diplomacy. The official also said Obama and Putin discussed the latest version of a "working document" that Kerry and Lavrov have been working on regarding ways to defuse the crisis. "We have been in close touch with the Ukrainian government in this process," the official added. Obama and European leaders this week piled pressure on Russia to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis in a peaceful way. In a speech on Wednesday in Brussels, Obama built his case for sanctions against parts of the Russian economy like the energy industry and said NATO would bolster its presence in the alliance's member nations close to Russia.
The White House said Obama stressed to Putin that the United States continues to support a diplomatic path in close consultation with the Ukrainian government. "President Obama made clear that this remains possible only if Russia pulls back its troops and does not take any steps to further violate Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," the White House said. The Russian deployments on the border with Ukraine include the establishment of supply lines and the fielding of a wide range of military forces, U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. These include militia or special forces units made up of Russian fighters wearing uniforms lacking insignia or other identifying markings, similar to the first Russian forces to move into Crimea during Russia's recent military takeover there, according to U.S. and European sources familiar with official reporting.
http://news.yahoo.com/russias-putin-calls-obama-discuss-u-proposal-ukraine-212358384.html
China not wantin' to get in the middle of it...
China takes no sides on Ukraine crisis, Xi tells Europe
Fri Mar 28, 2014 - President Xi Jinping said on Friday China would not take sides with the West or Russia over Ukraine, disappointing any hopes Beijing might add its weight to international pressure on Moscow for annexing Crimea.
China can't do much.
They want to annex parts of Japan, the whole of Taiwan, parts of Vietnam and so on. If they go against Russia, they shoot themselves in the foot. They also won't go against Russia who are their biggest ally in bullying people.
However if they go in favor of Russia then they risk having Tibet, Xinjiang etc having more force.
Liberal progressive fucks will cheer Obama taking us into ANOTHER war, this time one that might nuke back...
Fan-fucking-tastic.
And why does Obama do this? Because he's a arrogant, skinny fuck who never worked a real job in his life and fears looking weak to his base.
That's what all this shit about, not wanting to look weak, and because of that Obama is willing to risk ww3. What is America, I mean "nato" going to do when Putin start fighting back... escalate? And when Putin keeps fighting back? Escalate more? At what point do you think Putin will attack aggressive countries on their home soil...?
Thanks Obama, yet the best!
Liberal progressive fucks will cheer Obama taking us into ANOTHER war, this time one that might nuke back...
Fan-fucking-tastic.
And why does Obama do this? Because he's a arrogant, skinny fuck who never worked a real job in his life and fears looking weak to his base.
That's what all this shit about, not wanting to look weak, and because of that Obama is willing to risk ww3. What is America, I mean "nato" going to do when Putin start fighting back... escalate? And when Putin keeps fighting back? Escalate more? At what point do you think Putin will attack aggressive countries on their home soil...?
Thanks Obama, yet the best!
Liberal progressive fucks will cheer Obama taking us into ANOTHER war, this time one that might nuke back...
Fan-fucking-tastic.
And why does Obama do this? Because he's a arrogant, skinny fuck who never worked a real job in his life and fears looking weak to his base.
That's what all this shit about, not wanting to look weak, and because of that Obama is willing to risk ww3. What is America, I mean "nato" going to do when Putin start fighting back... escalate? And when Putin keeps fighting back? Escalate more? At what point do you think Putin will attack aggressive countries on their home soil...?
Thanks Obama, yet the best!
So, when Bush went to Iraq, how did you react?
I don't understand how people can support war because "their president" started it, but they oppose war because "the other party's president" started it.
First Obama was weak for not starting a war with Russia, now he's a tyrannical madman hellbent on global destruction for wanting a peaceful resolution. Which is it?
MAKE UP YOUR FUCKING MINDS, REPUBLICANS.
I didn't like it... why do you ask?
Can't Obama just be a dumb fucking human without being compared to Bush? I mean the simple fact that people use Bush as the bar for "were you mad at Bush for doing the same thing?" pretty much dictates that Obama is a fucking idiot.
And just so you know, my Avatar says "Libertarian Party" right on it... Not "avid Bush supported but I hate Obama Party." Just, pointing that out.
I didn't like it... why do you ask?
Can't Obama just be a dumb fucking human without being compared to Bush? I mean the simple fact that people use Bush as the bar for "were you mad at Bush for doing the same thing?" pretty much dictates that Obama is a fucking idiot.
And just so you know, my Avatar says "Libertarian Party" right on it... Not "avid Bush supported but I hate Obama Party." Just, pointing that out.
I ask because a lot of people supported that war, and might not support this, all because of who the president and C-in-C is and nothing else.
Obama is president, you can insult all you like, it doesn't help your argument. Bush was the previous president. Comparatives of different presidents seems to be quite logical. It's not like you live in a little bubble and the Bush presidency didn't exist.
By all means, please explain what Obama should have done by now to stop Putin from taking over Crimea and Ukraine.First Obama was weak for not starting a war with Russia, now he's a tyrannical madman hellbent on global destruction for wanting a peaceful resolution. Which is it?
MAKE UP YOUR FUCKING MINDS, REPUBLICANS.
Obama was weak for not keeping his dick out of the rest of the world. You silly fuck, Obama started this with Putin when he started drawing "red lines" and doing nothing when another world leader called him on it...
No one claimed Obama needed to go to war with Putin you full fledged retard. They claimed Obama talked a lot of bullshit and got stuck in a pissing match that has grown to Obama getting troops ready for war.
Why are Dems so mother fucking dumb these days? This shit is like still right there in the new, not even dated long enough to forget.
Next you will be all like "Obama not getting troops ready for war, He's getting some troops ready but only under NATO...." War is war, and it only got this far because Obama cares more about sounding like he knows what he is doing than actually knowing what the fuck he is doing.
By all means, please explain what Obama should have done by now to stop Putin from taking over Crimea and Ukraine.First Obama was weak for not starting a war with Russia, now he's a tyrannical madman hellbent on global destruction for wanting a peaceful resolution. Which is it?
MAKE UP YOUR FUCKING MINDS, REPUBLICANS.
Obama was weak for not keeping his dick out of the rest of the world. You silly fuck, Obama started this with Putin when he started drawing "red lines" and doing nothing when another world leader called him on it...
No one claimed Obama needed to go to war with Putin you full fledged retard. They claimed Obama talked a lot of bullshit and got stuck in a pissing match that has grown to Obama getting troops ready for war.
Why are Dems so mother fucking dumb these days? This shit is like still right there in the new, not even dated long enough to forget.
Next you will be all like "Obama not getting troops ready for war, He's getting some troops ready but only under NATO...." War is war, and it only got this far because Obama cares more about sounding like he knows what he is doing than actually knowing what the fuck he is doing.
Also, I'm not a Democrat and I didn't vote for Obama.
So................ you're saying that Obama was weak for getting involved in the rest of the world, and he would show America's huge swinging balls by sitting on his ass while Russia begins conquering nations? Please explain.By all means, please explain what Obama should have done by now to stop Putin from taking over Crimea and Ukraine.Obama was weak for not keeping his dick out of the rest of the world. You silly fuck, Obama started this with Putin when he started drawing "red lines" and doing nothing when another world leader called him on it...
No one claimed Obama needed to go to war with Putin you full fledged retard. They claimed Obama talked a lot of bullshit and got stuck in a pissing match that has grown to Obama getting troops ready for war.
Why are Dems so mother fucking dumb these days? This shit is like still right there in the new, not even dated long enough to forget.
Next you will be all like "Obama not getting troops ready for war, He's getting some troops ready but only under NATO...." War is war, and it only got this far because Obama cares more about sounding like he knows what he is doing than actually knowing what the fuck he is doing.
Also, I'm not a Democrat and I didn't vote for Obama.
Nothing, zero. Not our problem. Nothing good is coming out of Obama making it our problem.
So................ you're saying that Obama was weak for getting involved in the rest of the world, and he would show America's huge swinging balls by sitting on his ass while Russia begins conquering nations? Please explain.
