UN Secretary General António Guterres expressed confidence Monday that the United States and China will be able to resolve in a «responsible» manner the diplomatic crisis that began after the discovery of an alleged Chinese spy balloon over U.S. airspace.
«The Secretary-General is confident that both China and the United States will be able to resolve this issue in a bilateral and responsible manner,» UN Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told a press conference.
Thus, Guterres’ spokesman has detailed that the UN does not have access to any confidential information about the purpose of the Chinese balloon, assuring that the organization does not know if it was really a spy balloon or if it was only for scientific purposes, as China claims.
The United Nations has also reiterated its concern over rising tensions between China and the United States.
The U.S. Army shot down a Chinese balloon over South Carolina on Saturday days after it was detected flying over U.S. airspace. The delay in shooting it down has sparked criticism of the Joe Biden Administration from Republicans.
For its part, the Government of China confirmed on Friday that the balloon located by U.S. authorities in U.S. airspace was its property, although it qualified its «civilian nature» and its purpose for «scientific research».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)