The European Union is pushing Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. On this subject writing Financial Times (FT), quoting an EU official who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
“What we think is positive is that China is at least showing an interest (in the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict). <…> we insist and have repeatedly insisted that they (negotiate) back and forth, with Russia and with Ukraine,” the source said. Despite the fact that the subject of China was not on the agenda of the EU summit in Brussels, which was held on March 23-24, Beijing appeared "in the background of almost all "the issues discussed there," the FT source said. According to the newspaper, the head of the European Union's foreign service, Josep Borrell, welcomed Xi Jinping's recent trip to Moscow, as the Chinese leader "made it clear" to Putin that he should not use nuclear weapons in a military conflict. Moreover, according to Borrell, Beijing does not unconditionally support Moscow and does not intend to supply it with weapons, as US media and officials have repeatedly warned about this. "They (the Chinese) have not crossed any red lines," said the head of European diplomacy. At the same time, the "peace plan" proposed by China to resolve the hostilities is not capable of resolving the conflict, although in the document the PRC does not completely side with Moscow, Borrell believes. On February 24, 2023, the anniversary of the start of the military conflict in Ukraine, China proposed a plan to resolve the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In it, Beijing, in particular, proposes abandoning Cold War-era thinking and the creation of military blocs, as well as halting hostilities and starting the negotiation process. Furthermore, the document stresses that unilateral sanctions and economic pressure cannot solve the current crisis. At the end of March, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a two-day visit to Moscow. As part of his trip, the Chinese leader held talks with Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and other senior Russian leadership. The parties discussed, among other things, the PRC's peace plan for Ukraine, nuclear weapons and limitations on missile defense systems, US actions against China and Russia, and the development of economic cooperation between Moscow and Beijing. As The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported in mid-March, Xi Jinping plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his trip to Moscow. The publication noted that it would be the first conversation between the leaders of the two countries since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Mikhail Podolyak's cabinet adviser confirmed on March 23 that preparations for negotiations between Zelenskyyy and Xi Jinping were underway. However, according to the official, difficulties arose in their organization, as China did not take a clear position on the military conflict. Zelenskyyy, in turn said that he communicated directly through diplomatic channels his intention to speak with Xi Jinping, but “did not receive a meeting offer”.
