Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered China a diplomatic-level meeting to discuss a peace plan with Russia. He stated this at a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
“We would like to meet with China – this is in the interests of Ukraine today. The more countries of the world will be involved in the “Formula of Peace”, the more countries … will think about how to end the war in Ukraine with respect for our sovereignty, <…> the faster this will be [achieved],” Zelensky said ( quoted from UNIAN).
He himself did not see the plan proposed by China and knows only general things. It is too early to “diagnose this document,” the head of state noted. According to the President of Ukraine, what China is saying about a peaceful settlement is “already good.” “But we will draw some conclusions after we see the specifics of what they offer, and then something will be clear,” Zelensky said.
Wang Yi, a member of the Chinese politburo in charge of foreign policy, said earlier that Beijing had prepared a plan for a peace treaty for Russia and Ukraine. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he said that the plan would take into account respect for the “sovereignty of all countries . ” The Chinese diplomat also met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Western officials were skeptical of Wang’s peace treaty claim, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called China’s ideas “rather vague”. However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had read the key elements of China’s plan and was waiting for the full text before drawing conclusions. For Ukraine, the cornerstone of any peace treaty will be the principle of territorial integrity, he noted.
After a dialogue with Kuleba in Germany, Wang Yi flew to Russia, where he first met with Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and then with President Vladimir Putin. The head of Russia thanked the Chinese diplomat for “joint work”. By this, Putin meant increased trade between the countries, which reached $185 billion last year.
In addition, Chinese President Xi Jinping is on an official visit to Russia, he wrote on the eve of the WSJ. According to the newspaper, he may meet with Putin in Moscow in the coming months.
The Kremlin is asking China to provide weapons for the war in Ukraine, CNN wrote , citing sources familiar with US and European intelligence data. The White House even threatened to declassify this intelligence to warn Beijing against a “irrevocable solution,” the WSJ claimed , citing EU and US officials.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Wednesday denied plans to send weapons to Russia. He called this information rumors that “the United States and NATO have been spreading since the very beginning of the Ukrainian crisis.”
Source : Moscow Times
