In phone call with Zelenskiy, Xi appears to pledge China will stay neutral in war, according to Chinese state media
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will send a delegation to Ukraine to hold talks with all parties on resolving the conflict there, after his first phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, since Russia invaded in February 2022.
According to Chinese state media, Xi made the offer during a telephone call on Wednesday with Zelenskiy and offered to help facilitate peace talks aimed at achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible.
Xi also appeared to pledge China would remain neutral in the conflict, saying Beijing “will neither watch the fire from the other side, nor add fuel to the fire, let alone take advantage of the crisis to profit”, according to CCTV.
However, China remains Russia’s top strategic ally in the midst of the conflict. Despite scepticism in Ukraine about China’s overtures for negotiations, Kyiv has been keen to keep communications open with Beijing, not least after Xi’s recent high-profile summit in Moscow where Russia and China pledged “undying friendship”.
Zelenskiy said: “I had a long and meaningful phone call with President Xi Jinping.
“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.”
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