MOSCOW: China's ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, on Wednesday blamed western nations for standing behind the unrest in the Asian country's special administrative region of Hong Kong.
"I can say frankly that all these demonstrations, protests, all this chaos are organized by the West," Zhang said at a news conference held at the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.
The ambassador went on to claim that "Americans and Westerners" are funding, arming and training the Hong Kong protesters.
"They are doing this vague situation precisely to split China, to create difficulties for the development of China," Zhang said.
Wide-scale protests have been taking place sporadically in Hong Kong since June 2019, with protesters claiming to oppose Beijing's increasing influence on the special administrative region.
The latest wave of protests was caused by the Chinese central authorities' plans to pass a security bill for Hong Kong.
The legislation, which bans secessionist activities, among other things, is seen by regional residents as undermining their liberties. However, both Hong Kong's leadership and the central government say the legislation would not affect the legitimate rights of regional residents.
Beijing maintains that the unrest in Hong Kong is a result of international interference and claims to respect the "one country, two systems" principle.