In a major diplomatic intervention, Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate with Ukraine — with Beijing offering no clear endorsement of the ongoing war.
“The situation in eastern Ukraine has undergone rapid changes, drawing great attention from the international community. China’s position would be based on the right and wrong in relation to the Ukraine issue itself,” Xi told Putin on Friday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
In further remarks that probably won’t go down well in the Kremlin, Xi said: “China supports Russia and Ukraine in resolving the issue through negotiation.”
While China sees Russia as a core partner, the Kremlin’s war puts China in a bind given Beijing’s difficulty in approving the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“China is consistent in the fundamental position on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and abiding by the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter,” Xi said.
Notably, Xi’s readout made no reference to previous attempts by China to blame NATO expansion or U.S. influence for problems in the region, though he said: “It is necessary to abandon the Cold War mentality, attach importance to and respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiations.”
“China is willing to work with all parties in the international community to advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept,” he added.
Chinese media also reported Putin as saying Russia “is willing to begin” high-level negotiations with Ukraine, though it’s unclear whether the Russian president attached any condition or specified when that might happen.
