Chinese President Xi Jinping intends to hold an online meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky next week, after his visit to Moscow and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Chinese president will call his Ukrainian counterpart after his visit to Moscow.
The virtual meeting between the Chinese and Ukrainian leaderships will be the first since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.
The Chinese move reflects Beijing’s efforts to play a more active role in mediating an end to the war, according to the source.
The plans for the Chinese president’s visit to Moscow come as China has offered to broker peace in Ukraine, an effort that has been met with skepticism from the West given China’s diplomatic support for Russia.
Russia’s Tass news agency reported on Jan. 30 that Putin had invited Xi to visit Moscow in the spring. Last month, the American Wall Street Journal revealed that the visit could take place in April or early May.
In late February, the Chinese Foreign Ministry published a 12-item proposal to achieve peace in Ukraine in conjunction with the first anniversary of the outbreak of the war, which has no sign of an end on the horizon.
The Chinese declaration focuses on a cease-fire between Moscow and Kiev, and the initiation of peace talks between the two parties to end the war, which broke out at dawn on February 24, 2022.
US intelligence warns of the Russian-Chinese rapprochement
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that “Russia appreciates China’s efforts” to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed “some” elements of the Chinese proposal, but said that “the country in which the war is taking place should launch the peace plan.”
On the other hand, US President Joe Biden criticized China’s peace plan, adding, “The idea that China is negotiating the results of the war in Ukraine is not rational.”
