“The Chinese, of course, are pursuing their own interests,” Melnyk said. “But I believe that a just and peaceful solution and an end to hostilities are more in line with Beijing’s interests than the current unrelenting earthquake of the entire world order.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week held a phone conversation, the first between the two heads of state since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than fourteen months ago. Beijing is officially neutral, but Xi visited Moscow in March, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has spoken several times since the start of the war.
Melnik described the talks between Zelensky and Xi as “a big step forward in strengthening our relations with China and ending Russian aggression.” He stressed that the withdrawal of all Russian forces from the occupied territories is an absolute condition.
China came up with its own peace plan for Ukraine in February. However, this does not necessitate a Russian withdrawal from the regions that Moscow has occupied since the past, or from the Ukrainian peninsula, Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
See also. Zelensky on the phone with Xi Jinping: “We will continue to talk”
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