Beijing: China on Thursday criticized the European Union's recent sanctions against Russia, highlighting that dialogue and negotiation are the "only viable way" to resolve the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

According to Anadolu Agency, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun expressed China's "firm" opposition to the EU's decision and revealed that serious protests have been lodged with the EU. The EU's latest sanctions package, its 19th, targets Russian banks, crypto exchanges, and entities in India and China, among others.

Guo reiterated China's stance, emphasizing that the nation is neither the originator nor a participant in the current crisis. He stated that China is dedicated to facilitating peace talks and has refrained from supplying lethal weapons to any party involved in the conflict. Additionally, China has exercised strict export controls over dual-use items. Guo urged the EU to refrain from implicating China and from actions that could harm China's interests, warning that such actions are detrimental to the stable development of China-EU relations.

In a related move, the United States imposed new sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, citing a lack of serious commitment from Moscow towards a peace process to end the war in Ukraine. Guo remarked that coercion and pressure tactics would not resolve the crisis.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in millions of people being killed, wounded, or displaced over its more than three-year duration.