Washington instigated the crisis and is pushing for it to rage on, the foreign ministry has said The US is the “initiator and biggest promoter” of the crisis in Ukraine, Beijing has said, commenting on Washington’s reported claims that state-run Chinese companies were providing non-lethal aid to Russia.

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Former NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, where he will meet with the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen. The trip takes place amid a row between Beijing and Washington, which accuse each other of stoking tensions in the region.