China wants Russia to join Ukraine peace talks
(Baonghean.vn) - Beijing is said to have told European Union (EU) officials that no solution can be discussed without Moscow.
China and Switzerland are quietly pushing to invite Russia to Swiss-hosted talks aimed at ending the fighting between Kiev and Moscow, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on March 8, citing people familiar with the matter.
Last month, Switzerland announced plans to host a peace summit “in the summer.” No date has been set yet, nor has the number of participants been disclosed. However, Ukraine has indicated that Russia can only be invited if it agrees to a series of preconditions.
According to SCMP, China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs Li Hui told EU officials that the summit “cannot be a conference to present a plan that the Russians will have to accept”. Sources added to the newspaper that both China and Switzerland share the “pragmatic” view that the talks should not be a mere formality.
Unlike many Western countries, Beijing refused to blame Moscow for the outbreak of the conflict in February 2022, stressing that the conflict could only end through diplomacy.
“The sooner the talks start, the sooner peace will come,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters at a Communist Party event in Beijing on March 7. He added that “the lack of peace talks… could lead to an even bigger crisis.”
China proposed a 12-point roadmap to peace in February 2023. The initiative was rejected by Kiev.
For his part, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has stressed that a solution can only be based on the 10-point “peace formula” he announced at the end of 2022.
Russia, meanwhile, dismissed Zelensky's terms as unrealistic, arguing that it would never give up Crimea, as well as four regions that were once part of Ukraine and have now been annexed by Russia.
Ukraine and Western countries supporting Kiev have called the referendums on joining Russia a “sham” and accused Russia of illegally occupying Ukrainian land. They have since said peace can only be achieved on Kiev’s terms.
Russian Ambassador to Switzerland Sergey Garmonin told local media in January 2024 that a peace summit without Russia’s participation was “doomed to failure.” Moscow has said it is ready to negotiate but only on acceptable terms.
According to SCMP, Chinese envoy Li Hui told his EU counterparts that Moscow had two preconditions for negotiations – stopping Western arms transfers to Ukraine and cancelling Mr Zelensky’s 2022 decree stating that negotiations with Mr Putin were “impossible”.
