MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. The United States in its policy toward Taiwan is taking an approach and employing techniques that it first tested out in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told TASS.

"Washington in its work with Taipei uses quite a number of techniques that have already been tested in Ukraine. And although the essence of the Taiwan issue and the nature of the Ukrainian crisis are fundamentally different, the main similarity is that the Americans use them as tools to put pressure on Beijing and Moscow, respectively," he said.

The senior Russian diplomat also commented on the visit of a US delegation to Taiwan immediately after the January elections on the island, calling these actions provocative. "Russia views such provocative actions by the United States as another attempt to put additional pressure on Beijing," Rudenko pointed out. "As for Taiwan, the West formally recognizes the 'One China' principle, but in reality it is fomenting separatist sentiments on the island, strengthening its military potential, conducting political contacts and interaction through military and intelligence services, and encouraging the education of the younger generation in the spirit of a certain Taiwanese self-identity that denies belonging to the Chinese nation," he noted.

According to the senior diplomat, Moscow considers the settlement of the situation in the Taiwan Strait as a purely internal Chinese matter. "At the same time, we note that Beijing consistently declares the priority of peaceful unification. Of course, and we hope that the Taiwan issue will be resolved without jeopardizing peace and stability in the region," Rudenko emphasized.

"Russia's principled position on the Taiwan issue remains unchanged: We assume that there is only one China, that the government of the PRC is the only legitimate government representing all of China, and that Taiwan is an integral part of China. This approach is enshrined in the basic Russian-Chinese intergovernmental documents and has been repeatedly confirmed in bilateral contacts at all levels," the diplomat concluded.