Beijing’s foreign ministry on Thursday dismissed as “fake news” reports claiming senior Chinese officials had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin not to invade Ukraine until the Winter Olympics were over.

Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called the claims, first reported in the New York Times the previous day, a “despicable” attempt to shift blame onto China, when the United States bore responsibility for the war.

Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the opening of the Beijing Games last month, and signed off on a lengthy declaration hailing a “no limits” friendship. Xi threw his support behind Putin’s push for security guarantees in Europe and an end to NATO expansion – Russian demands that dominated the discourse in the run-up to the February 24 invasion.