MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Western countries are responsible for unrest in Hong Kong, they send money and weapons there to back the protests, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui told an online briefing Wednesday.

He stressed that the West as led by the United States is "playing a malicious role" in Hong Kong developments. "I can honestly tell you that all these demonstrations and protests, this chaos, were organized by the west. They are sending funds and even weapons [there]. They prepped [protesting] students, radicals and separatists," the envoy noted.

According to him, the desire to split China and hamper the country’s economic development is the driver for the escalation of violence in Hong Kong. Zhang Hanhui added that democracy and human rights in Hong Kong were guaranteed only after the city officially reverted to China’s sovereignty in 1997.

On May 28, the Chinese legislature adopted the resolution to draft a national security law for Hong Kong. The White House interpreted the move as violation of the city’s autonomous status and promised sanctions would follow. On May 29, US President Donald Trump announced that this decision had prompted the US side to start rolling back all preferences the special administrative region used to enjoy in trade and economic relations with the US.

Beijing attributes the importance and urgency of the law to escalating threats to national security in Hong Kong as well as incapability of local authorities to adopt the bill themselves that spanned 23 years since the city returned to China. Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly underscored that the new law is only aimed against a handful of criminals and will not violate the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and legitimate rights and freedoms of locals including the right to free speech and peaceful assembly.