Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion more than a year ago.
(Bloomberg) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion more than a year ago.
Xi told Zelenskiy that negotiations are the only solution for the war during a phone call, China’s state TV reported. The Chinese president said China would send a representative to Ukraine, according to the report.
The talks between the two leaders underscore Beijing’s efforts to portray itself as a neutral mediator as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war heads into its second year. China recently put forward a 12-point cease-fire proposal that was quickly dismissed by Kyiv’s allies as being a one-sided deal that would benefit the Kremlin.
A cease-fire would freeze Russian troops in place on Ukrainian territory and is seen by Kyiv as a non-starter. Zelenskiy has vowed to continue fighting until they depart. Moscow has shown no sign of stopping its attacks, and continues to claim portions of eastern Ukraine and Crimea as its territory after holding illegal referendums on annexation.
French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to enlist China’s help to intervene in Ukraine, but those efforts suffered a blow recently. The Chinese ambassador to France told a French news network that the ex-Soviet states don’t have sovereign status as independent nations, a statement that triggered furious reactions from some former Soviet bloc countries.
On Monday, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry backtracked, saying that China “respects” the independence of the former Soviet Union states and that its position is “unchanged.”
–With assistance from Colum Murphy.
(Updates with details of the call.)
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