• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Taiwan accuses Russia of 'changing status quo' over Ukraine actions

ROC Central News Agency

02/24/2022 01:26 PM

Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) Taiwan on Thursday accused Russia of "changing the status quo" and reiterated a call for a peaceful resolution to disputes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the commencement of military operations in Ukraine.

In a televised address Thursday morning, Putin announced the launch of a "special military operation" to achieve the "demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine," something Ukraine has characterized as a full-scale invasion.

In his address, Putin urged Ukrainian soldiers in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine to lay down their weapons and return to their homes.

Asked to comment, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) condemned Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Taiwan believes that the ongoing tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border are due to Moscow's "unilateral decision to change the status quo," MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said at a news briefing.

Ou reiterated the government's plea that all sides use peaceful means to resolve their disputes, adding that Taiwan was willing to contribute to various de-escalation efforts, though she did not elaborate on what those efforts might be.

She did not give a direct answer on whether Taiwan would join U.S. sanctions on Russia as reported by the U.S.-based magazine Foreign Policy on Tuesday, which said Washington is in talks with Taipei, Tokyo, and Singapore over the implementation of restrictive export controls on Russia.

Ou only said that Taiwan would be working closely with like-minded countries to come up with "appropriate measures" to help jointly maintain regional peace.

Meanwhile, Ou also announced that due to the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the ministry had temporarily asked Taiwan's representative office in Poland to be in charge of consular affairs for Taiwanese in Ukraine, effective Friday.

Taiwan currently does not have an office in Ukraine and its nationals who need consular service, including visa and passport applications, need to travel to Taiwan's office in Moscow.

Ou said there were still 33 Taiwanese nationals in Ukraine despite Taiwan's government repeatedly urging them to leave.

Among them, 10 said they had considered leaving the country in recent days, according to the spokeswoman.

For those who remain in Ukraine, MOFA has asked them to at least relocate to the western part of the country to stay out of the conflict zone, she added.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ASG