ISLAMABAD: China said on Thursday that its special ambassador for the Ukraine war met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv earlier this week.
Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the meeting came amid discussions between Ambassador Li Hui and Ukraine’s foreign minister and other key officials. He told the reporters that there was no remedy to end the crisis. All parties in the conflict should create a favorable environment and accumulate common trust for the political solution.
The trip followed a phone conversation between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Zelensky. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Li and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed ways to stop the Russian invasion.
Kuleba briefed Li, a former Chinese envoy to Moscow, “about the principles of restoring a just and stable peace based on respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”
Kuleba repeated his government’s stance that Kyiv would not accept any proposal suggesting the “freezing of the conflict” or the loss of its territories.
Xi’s government said that it was neutral and wanted to serve as a mediator in the fifteen-month-long war.
China sees Russia as military, diplomatic partner
Beijing has also issued a proposed peace framework in February, but Ukraine’s allies dismissed it, demanding that Russian Vladimir Putin must withdraw his troops. Zelensky’s own ten-point peace plan also included the formation of a tribunal to prosecute war crimes committed by Moscow.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said Li also will visit France, Poland, and Germany but did not give more details in this regard.
