Smokescreen of war should not be used as leverage in solving Ukraine issue: spokesperson

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- In seeking a political resolution of the Ukraine issue, nobody should put up a smokescreen of war and use it as leverage, or threaten others with sanctions and pressure, still less resort to the means of inciting bloc confrontation, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks when asked to comment on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement at the UN Security Council that U.S. information indicates that Russia "takes steps down the path to war" and is "preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days."

The credibility of the U.S. intelligence community has been tested on many occasions, including Iraq and Ukraine, Wang said.

Efforts should be made on the basis of the Minsk-2 agreement to properly treat the reasonable security concerns of all sides including Russia through dialogue and negotiation, and work for the full resolution of the Ukraine crisis and related issues, he said.