China’s top diplomat to visit Ukraine since Russia’s all-out invasion has concluded talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials with no sign of a breakthrough in Beijing’s ceasefire efforts.
Chinese diplomat Li Hui instead downplayed the prospect of sudden change, according to an official summary of his meetings in Ukraine published by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. Mr. Li met with Mr. Zelenskyy, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other officials in Kiev over the past two days, the summary said.
“There is no magic remedy to defuse the crisis,” Mr Li said, according to the Chinese summary. “To do this, all parties must start with themselves, build mutual trust and create the conditions for an end to the war and for peace talks.”
Mr. Li’s visit to Ukraine was part of a tour of Europe to publicize Beijing’s potential role in ending the war. He is to travel on to Poland, France, Germany and Russia “to reach agreement on a political solution to the Ukraine crisis”. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced this last week. Mr. Li, a former ambassador to Moscow whose official title is now special envoy for Eurasian affairs, has advocated a comprehensive 12-point framework issued by Beijing in February as a starting point for peace efforts.
But neither the Chinese nor the Ukrainian report on Mr. Li’s talks in Ukraine indicated that Beijing’s global influence has narrowed the rift between Kyiv and Moscow.
Ukraine has been wary of Chinese statements about its role as a potential peace mediator, given Beijing’s close ties to Russia and its President Vladimir V. Putin. Even now, more than a year after fighting began, Chinese officials generally avoid using the words war or invasion to describe the conflict.
Other international leaders have also come forward as potential mediators to help end the war, including the Presidents of France And Brazilas well as Pope Francis. But both Moscow and Kyiv appear focused on making progress on the fighting in the coming months before considering their positions in any talks.
Mr. Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, told Mr. Li that Kyiv “does not accept any proposals that involve losing territory or freezing the conflict,” the statement said The Ukrainian Ministry on Wednesday. It added that Mr. Kuleba had suggested China to support Ukraine’s peace plan, which envisages a Russian withdrawal from all Ukrainian territory.
Nonetheless, Mr Li’s trip also appears aimed at softening European criticism that China has put maintaining its ties with Russia above its concerns for Ukraine’s sovereignty and its war casualties.
Mr. Li’s role in ending the war was announced last month, shortly after China’s leader Xi Jinping made his first phone call with Mr Zelenskyy since Russia began its invasion last year.
China, Mr. Li told his Ukrainian hosts, “wants to encourage the international community to form the greatest common denominator for defusing the Ukraine crisis,” according to the official Chinese summary of the talks. “In its own way, China has always played a constructive role in improving the humanitarian situation of Ukrainians.”
