During Blinken's visit to China, Russian-Ukrainian war is on agenda - US State Department

This was stated during a briefing on December 19, by US State Department spokesman Ned Price, Ukrinform reports.

"When the Secretary of State goes to Beijing, which we expect to happen at some point early next year, Russian-Ukrainian war will be on the agenda," he said.

Price claims China maintains close ties with Russia although declaring neutrality in this conflict. He reminded that the US had warned Beijing against providing military assistance to Russia to help it evade sanctions.

"We are watching Beijing's activities in this particular area very closely," Price said.

The US also hopes that China will use its influence on Russia to help end "this brutal war."

The spokesman added the United States and other countries expect that China, as a member of the UN Security Council, "really believes in and actually adheres to the principles that have been at the heart of China's foreign policy for decades - independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty."

"These are things that China has sort of consistently upheld within the UN system and the international system in general. Countries around the world want to see that," Price said.