- China came out with a proposal to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
- The Ukrainian President gave qualified support for China’s new pronouncements, and also said he was planning to meet the Chinese President.
- Beijing claims to have a neutral stance in the war, but has also said it has a “no limits friendship” with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Zelenskyy said he was doing “everything possible” to prevent China from arming Russia. “I really want to believe that China will not supply weapons to the Russian Federation.”
- Russia’s Foreign Ministry welcomed China’s peace plan and said it remains open to political and diplomatic efforts.
- A senior Russian lawmaker said “This war could end tomorrow if Russia stopped attacking Ukraine and withdrew its forces…. This was a war of choice.”
- A German government spokesman said the Chinese proposal contained several important points, but was missing a key one: “first and foremost the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.”
In a surprise move, China came out with a proposal to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as the brutal battle on Ukraine soil completed one year with the loss of thousands of lives and unscalable destruction in the Ukrainian cities.
While addressing a press conference on the occasion of the anniversary of the war with Russia Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave qualified support for China’s new pronouncements about the war in his country, saying Beijing’s interest is “not bad” and might be useful in isolating Russia. He also said he was planning to meet China President Xi Jinping.
Beijing claims to have a neutral stance in the war that began one year ago, but has also said it has a “no limits friendship” with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, or even refer to it as an invasion. It has accused the West of provoking the conflict and “fanning the flames” by providing Ukraine with defensive arms.
Zelenskyy said there were points in the Chinese proposals that he agreed with. He also said he was doing “everything possible” to prevent China from arming Russia. “I really want to believe that China will not supply weapons to the Russian Federation.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also welcomed China’s peace plan Friday, and said it remains open to political and diplomatic efforts. The plan released by China’s Foreign Ministry calls for the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries” to be respected, but does not say what will happen to the territory Russia has occupied since the invasion.
In Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova praised the plan for, among other things, “implying halting the flow of Western weapons,” ending hostilities, “restoring a neutral and non-block status for Ukraine,” and “acknowledging the territorial realities that have emerged.” That would include Russia’s illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine.
Leonid Slutsky, a senior Russian lawmaker, said “This war could end tomorrow if Russia stopped attacking Ukraine and withdrew its forces….This was a war of choice.”
German government spokesman Wolfgang Buchner said the Chinese proposal contained several important points, but was missing a key one: “first and foremost the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.”
