President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, February 23, during a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, said that Kyiv had sent a proposal for a meeting to Beijing through diplomatic channels.
“We transmitted this signal at the level of diplomats. We would like to meet with China, this is in the interests of Ukraine, ”he quoted him as saying. The Guardian.
Zelensky also stressed that he is aware of Beijing’s plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, but he has not seen a specific document, so it is too early to draw conclusions about this plan.
“The fact that China is already talking about this is already some first steps, it’s very good,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding that Kiev would draw conclusions only after concrete steps.
On February 22, Wang Yi, head of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Beijing highly appreciates Russia’s readiness to resolve the conflict in Ukraine through negotiations. In addition, Wang Yi noted that despite the difficult international situation, relations between Russia and China are stable.
Before that, on February 18, Wang Yi said that Beijing would prepare a position paper on a political settlement of the conflict. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba noted that Kyiv would study Beijing’s peace plan and draw its own conclusions.
The politician stressed that the document will include proposals made by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Among them will be points on respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, on adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, as well as a call to contribute by all means to a peaceful settlement of the crisis.
He added that in the document, the Chinese side will repeat the thesis that nuclear wars should not be waged, and will also call for opposing attacks on nuclear power plants and nuclear facilities in order to prevent a nuclear catastrophe.
Earlier, on January 20, the official representative of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, said that China would continue to work on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The country has always actively worked to advance peace talks, he said, and Beijing will continue to “play a constructive role in the peaceful resolution of the crisis” through its own means.
On October 4, 2022, Kyiv officially refused contacts with Moscow. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky enforced the decision of the National Security Council on the impossibility of holding negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special operation to protect Donbass. The decision to hold it was made against the background of the aggravated situation in the region due to the increased shelling of Ukrainian troops.
