Washington: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted on Wednesday during his visit to Uzbekistan that despite having some "positive elements," Beijing's recently proposed roadmap for resolving the Ukraine crisis is hollow because Beijing hasn't offered any assistance to Kiev.

The top diplomat pointed out that certain elements of China's proposal were also included in the peace plan put forth by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, such as the need to respect each nation's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

But according to Blinken, if Beijing was sincere about its plan, it "would have been spending all of the last year working in support of the restoration of Ukraine's full sovereignty" as Moscow conducted its military operation there.

Also Read: Bezalel Smotrich: Israel should "obliterate" the West Bank town of Huwara

Instead, according to Blinken, China has been promoting "Russian propaganda" regarding the conflict, offering economic and diplomatic cover for Moscow in the face of tighter Western sanctions, and even purportedly considering providing military assistance to Russian forces.

China's 12-point plan for resolving the Ukrainian conflict was unveiled last week. It included calls for resuming peace negotiations, opposing unilateral sanctions, and upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

Moscow, which supported the idea of using peaceful means to end the ongoing conflict, welcomed the plan. However, the Kremlin made clear that it currently did not believe there was a chance for a political solution to the crisis.

Also Read:  USA: No evidence of foreign enemies being responsible for the 'Havana syndrome'

Western supporters of Kiev have dismissed Beijing's proposal, with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claiming that China lacked "much credibility" in the matter. Instead, they have emphasised how strongly China has been cautioned by Western leaders not to consider aiding Russia's military operation.

According to Blinken, such a move would result in Washington sanctioning any Chinese company that disobeys US sanctions or is "otherwise engaged in supporting" the Russian military operation. It would also cause a "serious problem" for US-China relations.

Also Read:  US, Russian, and UAE astronauts are sent to the space station by SpaceX

The US has been accused of hypocrisy and of fueling the conflict in Ukraine by continuing to send billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Kiev, but China has denied claims that it intends to offer any lethal assistance to Moscow.