The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, said on Friday that he sees “serious obstacles” regarding the search for a peaceful solution in Ukraine, during the meeting with the Chinese emissary Li Hui in Moscow, according to AFP.
During the meeting, which, according to the official Russian media, lasted an hour and a half, “the Russian foreign minister reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment in favor of a political-diplomatic solution to the conflict, mentioning in particular serious obstacles created by Ukraine and its Western supporters in the path to the resumption of peace negotiations”, stated the Russian diplomacy in a press release.
“Sergei Lavrov expressed his gratitude to China for its balanced position towards the Ukrainian crisis and expressed his high appreciation for Beijing’s desire to play a positive role in solving it,” the Russian MFA added, according to AFP, quoted by Agerpres.
Li Hui, a former Chinese ambassador to Moscow for ten years, was sent by Beijing to discuss a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine. He has been touring Europe for a week.
During his visit to Kiev last week, Li Hui held talks with the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, who insisted on “respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
After these talks, China said it wants to “create the largest common ground for solving the Ukrainian crisis and make its own efforts to end the fighting and a ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible.”
Kiev said its foreign minister had told Li Hui that it would not accept any proposal that would involve Ukraine losing territory or freezing the conflict.
In Berlin, the German government asked the Chinese emissary to “put pressure” on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
Russia and China maintain close relations, which have strengthened economically and politically since the launch of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, against the background of the series of Western sanctions that hit the Russian economy.
How involved is Beijing in the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine
Beijing did not publicly condemn the Russian invasion, and Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Moscow in March, thus giving strong support to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, AFP notes.
China, which signed a “borderless” partnership with Russia less than three weeks before Russia invades Ukraine in February 2022, has not only refrained from criticizing Moscow, but has also dramatically expanded its energy imports from Russia since the beginning of the war, according to Reuters.
Beijing has presented a 12-point plan for peace in Ukraine that calls for a ceasefire, but does not stipulate that Russia should withdraw from any of the territories it has occupied, which for Ukraine is a key requirement. His initiative has raised skepticism in the West, with NATO saying Beijing lacks credibility as a mediator.
During a meeting with European Union officials in Brussels on Thursday, Li said that Beijing has always maintained an objective and fair position on the Ukrainian issue and intensively promoted peace talks, according to Reuters.
In a material published on Friday, citing anonymous European diplomats, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) writes that China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, invited European countries to declare their “autonomy from the United States”, to calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and to “leave” the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, reports the independent Russian portal Meduza.io.
According to the American publication, he urged European governments to consider China as an economic alternative to Washington and said they should act as quickly as possible to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine so that it does not escalate further. a lot.
How the West sees China’s position in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Wall Street Journal interlocutors said that it is “still too early to ignore” China’s efforts to resolve the situation in Ukraine. But they questioned Beijing’s ability to act as an “honest broker” given how “closely” it is tied to Moscow.
Western officials say they do not believe in the possibility of peace until Russian troops withdraw from Ukraine.
“I explained to him that the freezing of the conflict is not in the interest of the international community if there is no withdrawal of the Russian troops,” said one of the WSJ interlocutors.
European officials also told the Chinese emissary that “Europe cannot be separated from America” and that Europe will not withdraw its support for Ukraine, notes Meduza.io.
“He is probably testing the unity of the West and trying to take the initiative,” one of the diplomats who spoke to Li Hui told the WSJ.
According to another diplomat, China’s main interests are probably that Russia does not lose the war and that Moscow does not use nuclear weapons.
Editor : I.C
