26 Apr, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping has spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Beijing saying it wanted to send an envoy to Kyiv to serve as a mediator to pursue a “political settlement”.
The phone call on Wednesday lasted nearly an hour and was “long and meaningful”, according to the Ukrainian president.
The first known wartime phone call between the two leaders comes after Xi and Zelenskyy both said they were willing to speak to each other following Xi’s visit to Moscow in March.
A Chinese foreign ministry statement said Beijing’s “core stance is to facilitate talks for peace” and announced that an envoy – a former ambassador to Russia – would visit Ukraine to seek a “political settlement”.
The statement struck a positive tone, giving a nod to Kyiv’s insistence that its territory cannot be broken up by Russia’s annexations and making clear that Beijing values its long-standing ties with Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commended China’s approach but slammed Ukraine’s stance.
Source: news agencies
