China to send peace envoy to Ukraine, Xi tells Zelensky during first call

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a “long and meaningful” phone call on Wednesday (Ukraine time), their first known contact since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, and Beijing appointed an envoy to pursue a “political settlement”.

The hour-long call came two months after Beijing, which has long been aligned with Russia, said it wanted to act as a mediator and a month after Xi visited Moscow. The call also coincided with indications that Ukraine is readying its forces for a spring counteroffensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping.Credit: AP

Zelensky was upbeat about the conversation, which offered him the chance to insert his views into what had been a bilateral dialogue between Moscow and Beijing. Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to keep Xi close as a counterweight to the US, which has sided with Ukraine.

“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,” Zelensky said on Facebook.

An official readout on his website called the conversation “productive” and said it leads the way toward “possible interaction with the aim of establishing a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine”.

Zelensky emphasised the need to regain all Ukrainian lands and stated, “There can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises.” In an indirect reference to US reports that China had considered supplying weapons to Russia for its war, Zelensky’s office said he asked countries to refrain from doing so because “any support – even partial – is converted by Russia into the continuation of its aggression, into its further rejection of peace.” China has said it won’t supply weapons to either side in the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a dinner in Moscow in March.Credit: AP

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing’s “core stance is to facilitate talks for peace,” announcing that an envoy – a former ambassador to Russia – would visit Ukraine to seek a “political settlement”.

The ministry’s statement struck a positive tone, giving a nod to Kyiv’s insistence that its territory cannot be broken up by Russia’s annexations and making clear that Beijing values its longstanding ties with Ukraine.

“Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the political foundation of China-Ukraine relations,” the statement said. “China’s readiness to develop relations with Ukraine is consistent and clear-cut. No matter how the international situation evolves, China will work with Ukraine to advance mutually beneficial co-operation.”

Analysts expressed scepticism about the prospects for peace.

The call balances China’s dialogue with Russia by showing it is “recognising Ukraine’s leadership and indicating Ukraine is an important entity,” said political science professor Kimberly Marten of Barnard College at Columbia University in New York.

But, she added, unless undisclosed details reveal otherwise, “it’s a non-starter. It’s pro-Russian. I would not guess that this holds a lot of significance for ending the war.”

She noted the Chinese statement didn’t call for Russia to leave occupied areas or brand Russia as an aggressor, and refers to the situation as “a crisis, rather than a war”.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commended China’s approach, praising Beijing’s “readiness to strive to establish a [peace] negotiations process,” while slamming Kyiv’s “rejection of any sound initiatives aimed at a settlement”.

The White House described it as a positive development, allowing Xi to hear Ukraine’s view of the “illegal, unprovoked invasion”.

Talks between the two leaders had been anticipated for weeks, after China produced a 12-point proposal to end the fighting, although it did not contain details.

Russia and Ukraine are far apart in their terms for peace. The Kremlin wants Kyiv to acknowledge Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, which most nations have denounced as illegal.

Ukraine has rejected the demands and ruled out any talks with Russia until its troops pull back from all occupied territories.

China has announced it was keen to act as mediator in the war that has re-energised NATO. Xi’s position reinforces China’s claim that it’s neutral in the war, despite blocking UN efforts to condemn the Kremlin’s invasion.

AP

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.