After weeks of uncertainty and hesitation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, the long-awaited phone call has finally arrived. A phone call that could change the fate of the Russian war in Ukraine. But it could also strengthen Beijing’s willingness to impose itself as a mediator in major global conflicts.
Xi had never spoken to Zelensky since the conflict began, initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin (linked to an “unlimited” friendship with the Chinese leader). Last March, the Wall Street Journal was the first to predict a phone call between the two presidents, but it didn’t happen. Later, rumors spread that the Chinese president would call his Ukrainian counterpart after his trip to Russia: But even then, Xi did not pick up the phone. Still. The last hope was that Xi would hear from Zelensky following the Beijing visit of French President Macron and EU Commission number one von der Leyen. The hope was then overlooked by the silence of the Chinese president.
China’s double game in the war in Ukraine
But until now, when the two presidents held their first meeting since the beginning of Russian aggression in Ukraine. According to reports in Chinese state media, Xi and Zelensky talked about the decades-old relationship between Beijing and Kiev. During the dialogue, China’s position on the war was also revealed: Beijing, which has never condemned Russian aggression or wanted Russian troops to withdraw from Ukrainian territory, has always supported the path of dialogue and negotiation to end the conflict and ceasefire.
🇨🇳 I had a long and meaningful phone call with Chairman Xi Jinping. I believe that this call and the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China will give a strong impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 26, 2023
As reiterated in today’s hour-long phone call, Beijing said the government would send its special representative for Eurasian affairs to Ukraine and other countries to meet with all parties and “find a policy of settlement to Ukraine”. crisis” (a term used by Beijing and Moscow to denote the Russian conflict). Beijing, choosing to refer to the figure of the special envoy, recognizes the territorial sovereignty of the country attacked by Kremlin troops. The Chinese ambassador to France in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union It is a necessary choice for China, which aims to once again move away from its controversial promises of independent state and sovereignty of the countries that are members of the United Nations.The path of peace is the only way to follow for the Chinese leader: President Xi stressed to his Ukrainian counterpart that China “always stands for peace”.
“China did not create the Ukraine crisis, and it is not a part of the crisis. In a series of tweets by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a responsible major country, does not fuel or fuel the fire, much less use the situation for personal gain. Hua Chunying, “In the Ukraine crisis, China always favors peace. Its position is to facilitate peace talks.”
What is the “peace plan” that China will present to Russia?
A few days before the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the Asian giant presented a 12-point “peace plan,” that is, a programmatic document on the war that was criticized and skeptical of the international community.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
