Chinese Foreign Ministry: NATO ‘Should Stop Its Tricks’ In Regards to Alexei Navalny

China on Monday slammed the NATO countries for creating a firestorm over the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. NATO “should stop their tricks” of interfering in other countries’ internal affairs,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, said on Monday. At a press conference, Ning was asked about NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s criticism of China’s response to the Alexey Navalny’s death.

‘NATO should stop its tricks of hyping up tensions’: China

“NATO should stop its tricks of hyping up tensions and interfering in other countries’ internal affairs to expand its sphere of influence and stop smearing China and stoking antagonism and confrontation,” Mao asserted, She continued to add, that “NATO should earnestly take concrete action for the peace and stability in Europe.” Beijing, calling Navalny’s death an internal affair for Russia, gave no further explanation about what could have led to the demise of the Kremlin critic.

“First and foremost, different from NATO, China never interferes in other countries’ internal affairs,” the spokeswoman said. She questioned, on what basis the NATO leaders immediately blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of the former lawyer who was charged for embezzlement before any investigation. “If confirmed [Navalny’s death], would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible,” US Vice President Kamala Harris said, commenting on the matter.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry hit back at the US and its allies for drawing conclusions, saying that the NATO itself was suspicious as it is they who benefit from Navalny’s death. “The immediate reaction of NATO leaders to Navalny’s death in the form of direct accusations against Russia is self-exposing. There is no forensic examination yet, but the West’s already made conclusions,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. She added, that the “carbon-copy accusations” that came within minutes after Navalny’s death show that they must have been “prepared in advance.”