March 28. 2024. 12:38

The Daily

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China’s Xi holds first call with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy since Russia’s invasion


Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by telephone on Wednesday (26 April) to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, after months of pressure from Kyiv for such talks.

“I had a long and meaningful phone call with [Chinese] President Xi Jinping,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” he added.

Zelenskyy’s spokesman Sergii Nikiforov said in a Facebook post the discussion lasted for almost an hour, adding that he would reveal details later.

At the time of publication, no information has been released about the precise content of the conversation.

Ukrainian officials have long been calling on Beijing to use its influence in Russia to help end the war.

Zelenskyy had repeatedly asked Xi to meet him or speak to him, including after the Chinese leader visited Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month. In early April, Xi said he was willing to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart.

Xi told Zelenskyy that China would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace, Chinese state media reported.

Peace plan

“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, we will neither sit idly by nor pour oil on fire, still less seek to profit from it,” Xi said.

Beijing so far has refrained from denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but says it is positioned to help mediate the conflict because it has not taken sides publicly.

Since February, Xi has promoted a 12-point peace plan for Ukraine, greeted with scepticism from the West but cautiously welcomed by Kyiv.

Western countries say China’s 12-point peace proposal for Ukraine is too vague, offers no concrete path out of the war, and could be used by Putin to promote a truce that would leave his forces in control of occupied territory.

Meanwhile, China has emerged as a major buyer of Russian oil that can no longer be sold in Europe, and a firm critic of Western sanctions against Moscow, but has held back from openly supporting the invasion.

The United States has said in recent months it was worried about China providing weapons or ammunition to Russia, although Beijing denies any such plans.

EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell told EURACTIV and other media last month Beijing’s partnership with Moscow has limits, despite official rhetoric and public visits pointing to the contrary.

“China has not crossed any red lines for us,” Borrell then said when asked again whether he had seen any evidence of China supplying arms to Russia.

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