BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky by phone, Beijing and Kyiv said, the first call between the two presidents since the start of war in Ukraine.
China says it is neutral in the Ukraine war, and Xi has never condemned the Russian aggression, but the Chinese leader has come under intense pressure from Western countries to step in and mediate.
A twelve-point “position paper” published by Beijing in February was seen by many Western administrations as skewed towards Russia, and a friendly Moscow trip in March by Xi to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin led to severe criticism.
Zelensky said on Twitter that he had a long and meaningful phone conversation with President Xi Jinping. Ukrainian leader added that he believed that this call and the appointment of Ukraine’s envoy to China, would give a powerful impetus to the development of bilateral ties.
Sergiy Nykyforov, Zelensky’s spokesman, said on Facebook that both leaders had nearly one-hour-long telephone conversation.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that during the call initiated by Ukraine, Xi told Zelensky that talks and dialogue were the only way out of the conflict. He said that on the issue of Ukraine, Beijing has always stood on the side of peace, and its core position is to promote peace negotiations.
He said that when dealing with the nuclear issue, all concerned parties should remain restrained and calm, truly focus on the future and destiny of themselves and the whole of mankind, and jointly manage and control the conflict.
Chinese delegation
Beijing also said it would send a delegation and a special representative to Ukraine to find a political settlement to the conflict. In a press briefing, Yu Jun from China’s foreign ministry said that Zelensky has repeatedly said that he would be open to negotiations with his Chinese counterpart, and the Ukrainian side initiated Wednesday’s telephone conversation. –AFP
