Xi holds first talks with Zelenskiy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
KYIV/BEIJING, (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy by telephone yesterday for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding goal of Kyiv which had publicly sought such talks for months.
Zelenskiy immediately signalled the importance of the chance to open closer relations with Russia’s most powerful friend, naming a former cabinet minister as Ukraine’s new ambassador to Beijing.
Describing the hour-long phone call as “long and meaningful”, Zelenskiy tweeted: “I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.”
Xi told Zelenskiy that China would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace, Chinese state media reported.
Xi, the most powerful world leader to have refrained from denouncing Russia’s invasion, made a state visit to Moscow last month. Since February, he has promoted a 12-point peace plan for Ukraine, greeted sceptically by the West but cautiously welcomed by Kyiv as a sign of Chinese interest in ending the war.
China will focus on promoting peace talks, and make efforts for a ceasefire as soon as possible, Xi told Zelenskiy, according to the Chinese state media reports.
“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, we will neither sit idly by, nor pour oil on fire, still less seek to profit from it,” Xi said.
In a readout of the call on the Telegram messenger, Zelenskiy said the two leaders discussed “possible cooperation to establish a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine”.
The White House welcomed the call, which it said it had no advanced knowledge of, but said it was too soon to tell whether it would lead to a peace deal.
“That’s a good thing,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. “Now, whether that’s going to lead to some sort of meaningful peace movement, or plan, or proposal, I just don’t think we know that right now.”
France also welcomed the call, with President Emmanuel Macron’s office saying the French leader had pushed Xi to hold this call with Zelenskiy during his visit to Beijing this month.
The 14-month war is at a juncture, with Ukraine preparing to launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks or months following a Russian winter offensive that made only incremental advances despite the bloodiest fighting so far.
There are no peace talks in sight, with Kyiv demanding Russia withdraw its troops and Moscow insisting Ukraine must recognise its claims to have annexed seized territory.
“There can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises,” Zelenskiy said in his post.
“The territorial integrity of Ukraine must be restored within the 1991 borders.”
Ukrainian officials have long been calling on Beijing to use its influence in Russia to help end the war.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a “no limits” partnership agreement weeks before Putin ordered the invasion.
Since then,
China has denounced Western sanctions against Moscow but has held back from openly supporting the invasion. China has also become Russia’s biggest economic partner, buying up oil that can no longer be sold in Europe, often at steep discounts.
Following the Xi-Zelenskiy talks, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “We note the readiness of the Chinese side to make efforts to establish a negotiation process.”