Zelenskyy Alleges Russia Leveraging Chinese Influence to Sabotage Ukraine Peace Talks
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that China was putting pressure on other countries to abstain from attending the peace summit in Switzerland.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of utilizing China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region to disrupt an upcoming peace summit focusing on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Zelenskyy mentioned that China was urging other countries not to participate in the peace summit set to take place in Switzerland on June 15-16, without specifying which countries.
“It is unfortunate that a powerful country like China is being used as an instrument by [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin,” added the Ukrainian leader.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry mentioned that it would be hard for China to take part in the peace summit as it does not align with their criteria. Beijing has called for equal participation from all parties, including Russia, who has not received an invitation.
Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning informed reporters that Chinese officials were not attending because “there is a clear discrepancy between the meeting’s arrangement and China’s stance as well as the international community’s general expectations.”
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“It’s not everything, but there are three points that definitively lead to the conclusion of the war, not the initiation of another escalation by the Russian Federation,” he remarked.
Ukraine Urges China to Reconsider Backing Russia
Zelenskyy told reporters that the conflict in Ukraine would drag on if China’s Communist Party (CCP) persisted in supporting the Russian government.
“We are not looking for military assistance from China… but we do not anticipate China to provide military support to Russia, and that has been discussed with the Chinese leader over the phone,” he mentioned.
According to Zelenskyy, he engaged in a phone conversation with CCP leader Xi Jinping a year ago to address “the reinforcement of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as well as our standpoint.”
“He assured me that China would remain impartial and would not supply weapons to Russia. Today, there have been various indications from various intelligence agencies, including Ukraine’s, that suggest that certain elements of Russia’s weaponry find their way to Russia from China… there are specific components of Russia’s armaments arriving from China,” he included.
Zelenskyy asserted that Ukraine has made several efforts to meet with Chinese officials, including CCP leader Xi Jinping, and extended invitations to the summit, all of which have been unsuccessful.
“Unfortunately, Ukraine lacks substantial connections with China because China is uninterested,” he noted.
