After months of apparent reluctance to engage with Kyiv on the same level as Moscow, China said Wednesday that it will send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties on resolving the crisis there.
Chinese state media said that President Xi Jinping told his Ukrainian counterpart President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that Beijing will focus on promoting peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, and would make efforts for a cease-fire to be reached as soon as possible.
Commenting on the call, which he described as “long and meaningful,” Zelenskyy said he believed it would “give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relation.”
Ukraine has been waiting for an audience with Xi since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and particularly after Xi’s recent visit to Moscow in March.
In other news, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Tuesday establishing temporary control of the Russian assets of two foreign energy firms, a sign that Moscow could be prepared to take similar action against other foreign companies.
43 MIN AGO
Zelenskyy praises ‘long and meaningful’ call with Xi
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits a site of residential buildings recently damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine March 27, 2023.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | via Reuters
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “long and meaningful” phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
“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 relation,” Zelenskyy added in a comment on Twitter.
Ukraine has been waiting for an audience with Xi since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and particularly after Xi’s recent visit to Moscow in March.
China is seen as one of the few countries that could influence Russia to end its military aggression against Ukraine although despite its calls for peace, Beijing is widely seen as allied with Moscow in terms of its anti-Western ideological perspective and opposition to a perceived U.S. hegemony in global affairs.
China said Wednesday that during the phone call with Zelenskyy, Xi had said he will send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties on reaching a cease-fire and an end to the conflict.
— Holly Ellyatt
1 HOUR AGO
China’s Xi says he will send representatives to Ukraine, hold talks on crisis
China’s President Xi Jinping is seen on a big screen in Shanghai on November 5, 2018.
Johannes Eisele | Afp | Getty Images
China will send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties on resolving the crisis there, President Xi Jinping told his Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported.
Xi made the remarks during a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, state broadcaster CCTV said.
China will focus on promoting peace talks, and make efforts for a ceasefire as soon as possible, Xi told Zelenskyy, according to the report.
Xi said in early April he was willing to speak with Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy had repeatedly asked Xi to meet him, including after the Chinese leader visited Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month.
— Reuters