Chinese envoy says isolation and sanctions will lead to 'dead end' in meeting over Russia's referendums

FILE PHOTO: China's Ambassador to the U.N. and current president to the U.N. Security Council Zhang Jun speaks during an emergency meeting, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., August 23, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo

China's Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun told a Security Council meeting that isolation and sanctions would only "lead to a dead end" after the United States called for the body to condemn Russia's referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine.

“Bloc confrontation, political isolation, sanctions and pressurization will only lead to a dead end," Zhang told the council.

China has given Russia diplomatic support since Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and Zhang repeated Beijing's call for negotiations that "include the respective legitimate concerns" to end the conflict.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis; Editing by Chris Reese)