A medical worker receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the hospital of the small Ukrainian town of Brovary on February 24, 2021. Photo: VCG

The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine told the Global Times on Sunday that China never coerced Ukraine to pull out of the anti-China joint statement by threatening the cancelation of COVID-19 vaccine shipments, and the embassy slammed such rumors made up by the Western media as a complete distortion of the facts with the aim of inciting dissension. 

The embassy's remarks refute the rumor seized upon eagerly by some Western media outlets. AP on Saturday cited anonymous diplomats from two Western countries claiming that Ukraine had pulled its name from the anti-China joint statement made at the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday after China warned it would block a planned shipment of at least 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines unless it did so.

"As an independent sovereign country and an important player in Europe, Ukraine made the decisions out of its own stance that deems it wrong to interfere with other country's internal affairs in the international diplomatic practices, but never under threats by some outside players," a staff member at the Chinese Embassy told the Global Times on Sunday on condition of anonymity. 

"We have made clear to the Ukrainian government we will continue our provision of Chinese vaccines, as the deal has long been agreed upon," the embassy staff noted. 

China has provided the most doses of vaccines to Ukraine so far and gained the local people's trust over their safety and reliability vis-à-vis  vaccines developed in other countries, the Chinese Embassy said, adding that local authorities have been engaging in positive dialogues with China's vaccine-developers Sinopharm and Sinovac. 

The Ukraine Embassy in Beijing did not respond to inquiries from the Global Times on the matter as of press time.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that China welcomes Ukraine's withdrawal, which reflects its spirit of independence and its respect for facts and conforms to the purposes of the UN Charter and basic norms governing international relations. 

The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN Office in Geneva said on its official website Friday that it had withdrawn its signature from a joint statement on the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

On June 22 during the interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Canada, on behalf of some countries, delivered a joint statement criticizing China in the name of Xinjiang-related issues, the report said. 

At the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council, more than 90 countries voiced their appeal for justice, and supported and echoed China in various ways, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying in a statement on its website on Saturday. 

The attempt of a few Western countries to smear China on issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet ended in failure again. This fully demonstrates that justice will always prevail and people have their fair judgment, the spokesperson said. 

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday on celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Ukraine strategic partnership that Ukraine values this partnership with China, the unshakable foundation of which is noninterference in each other's internal affairs and mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.