BEIJING (AP) — China is denouncing a report that it asked Russia to delay invading Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics as “fake news."
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says the report in The New York Times was an attempt to divert attention and shift blame.
He repeated China's accusation that Washington provoked the war by not ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine.
The Times article cited a “Western intelligence report" considered credible by officials.
The Times said senior Chinese officials had some level of direct knowledge about Russia’s intentions before the invasion began.
China is the only major government that hasn’t criticized Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.
