ALGIERS, Algeria

Algeria and China on Sunday rejected the misuse of unilateral sanctions in dealing with the Ukrainian crisis.

Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra started a two-day visit to China on Saturday for talks with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other senior officials.

A joint statement published by the Algerian Foreign Ministry said both Algiers and Beijing underlined the need to abide by UN principles, respect of sovereignty of countries and “take into consideration the reasonable security concerns of the concerned parties.”

The statement also stressed the necessity of abiding by “solving disputes peacefully through dialogue and negotiations and avoiding the misuse of unilateral sanctions that are not based on international law.”

The Russia-Ukraine war since on Feb. 24 has drawn international condemnation, led to financial restrictions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 847 civilians have been killed and 1,399 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, while noting conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.

More than 3.32 million people have fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar