The war in Ukraine to last until parties wear out – Chinese Professor

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 - 17:36 (EET) Section: Latest news

The Donbas conflict in Ukraine cannot be resolved by using military force; it can only be resolved by political means. The parties will simply not be able to fight any longer, reaching that state of exhaustion.
Director of the Institute of Contemporary International Relations at Peking University, Tsinghua Professor Yan Xuetong said as quoted in an interview with an Ukrinform correspondent.
“Conflict (in East Ukraine – ed.) will continue as long as the war parties do not reach the state of exhaustion and realize that they should sit down and decide how to stop it,” the famous scientist says.
Yan Xuetong believes none of the parties has made sufficient efforts to cease bloodshed.
“If the Ukrainian government wants to resolve the problem, it must find political leverages to apply in negotiations with the armed groups in East Ukraine and with Russia,” he said. Professor believes “any party can become a winner in this conflict” taking into account the balance of power at the moment. He described the situation as “a great tragedy” for Ukraine.
Speaking at a press meeteing in Beijing, Yan also replied to the question asking why the official Beijing has not recognized Crimea as a part of Russia.
“The Chinese government did not officially recognize Crimea as a part of the Russian Federation because its accession was carried out by military means,” he said. The scholar said changes of state borders and status quo do not correspond with the letter and spirit of the UN Charter. It is an extremely important principle and no one should violate it.
Speaking about reasons why China has not supported Western sanctions against Russia, Yan said his country “does not believe sanctions can resolve the conflict in Ukraine.” Also, China doesn’t believe sanctions will be effective and can result in changes of President Putin’s policies. As an example, he referred to Cuba where US sanctions have failed to change the Cuban government’s policy for 40 years.
Yan Xuetong authored several scholarly works, including such books as Chinese philosophy of antiquity and China’s power in our days.