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A just peace between Russia and Ukraine meets the strategic interests of China, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said at a meeting with the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Dmytro Kuleba emphasized that Kyiv will be able to begin the negotiation process with Moscow when the Russian Federation is ready to negotiate in good faith. But so far there has been no such readiness on the part of Russia, reports FREEDOM.
Negotiations lasted more than three hours between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, writes Reuters. The main topic of discussion is the search for ways to stop Russian aggression against Ukraine and Beijing’s potential role in achieving a sustainable and just world.
“Russian aggression has destroyed the world and slowed down development, and every new day of war entails new violations of humanity and further erosion of justice. Therefore, we need to end the war against Ukraine, restore peace and accelerate the restoration of our state,” Dmytro Kuleba said at a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister.
The press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported that Dmytro Kuleba informed his colleague about the results of the Peace Summit in Switzerland and explained the logic of implementing the Ukrainian peace formula.
“Most likely, Minister Kuleba will talk about China joining the implementation of certain points of the peace formula. As the minister once said, the peace formula is a kind of menu from which countries can choose which item they are willing to join. For China, there is also plenty to choose from: nuclear safety, food security, environmental. Plus, for China this will be a reputational and image issue. China is very actively trying to position itself as a peacemaker, a peace-loving state that promotes only peaceful instruments for resolving conflicts,” commented Alina Gritsenko, PhD in political science, chief consultant of the National Institute for Strategic Studies.
At a meeting in Guangzhou, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said: Kyiv will be able to begin negotiations with Russia at a certain stage, but the Kremlin has not yet shown readiness for a respectable dialogue. In turn, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that negotiations must be substantive and aimed at achieving a fair and stable world.
“We support all efforts to promote peace and are ready to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a ceasefire and resumption of peace negotiations. China is closely monitoring the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the country,” said Mao Ning, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ukrainian and Chinese sides discussed economic and trade relations between the two countries. The press service of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Beijing will continue to expand food imports from Ukraine and jointly support the smooth operation of logistics corridors. Meetings between heads of diplomatic departments may indicate preparations for negotiations at a higher level, analysts say.
“As a rule, negotiations at the level of foreign ministers mean the final stage of preparation for the meeting of the leaders of the two states. For China, all these protocol things in the hierarchy are very important. Considering that last month First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrei Sibiga flew to China, he met with his Chinese counterparts. Now the minister has already left, it is quite possible that we are communicating with China about a meeting between President Zelenskyy and Xi Jinping,” suggested Alina Gritsenko.
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called one of the goals of his visit to China to prevent competition between the peace plans of Kyiv and Beijing. In June, the first Peace Summit was held in Switzerland and the Chinese delegation was not there. Although, unlike Russia, China was invited to the summit. Moreover, Kyiv has repeatedly stated its interest in Beijing’s participation.
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