Photo: AFP/Hans Lucas Riccardo Milani
Mariann Őry
26/04/2023 14:42
Chinese President Xi Jinping said that dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way out for the Ukraine crisis, and no one wins a nuclear war, according to the news agency. He announced that China will send a special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs to visit Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. China always stands on the side of peace, and China's core position is to promote peace via talks, the president added.
Xi Jinping reminded that China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, will not choose to be a bystander of the Ukraine crisis, or "add fuel to the fire," or use the crisis as an opportunity to make profit. China's actions are open and above board on the issue, Xi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over phone.
China has provided multiple batches of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and will keep providing help to the best of its ability, MFA spokesperson Hua Chunying wrote on Twitter.
According to Politico, this was the first discussion between the two presidents since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
"After China brokered a reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran last month, it raised hopes that it would act as a mediator to help bring an end to the hostilities in Ukraine," China Daily's EU bureau chief and columnist Chen Weihua reminds in his recent editorial, adding that "China is neither the instigator nor a party to the conflict".
"The warm response Zelensky gave to Xi's proposal to send the Chinese government's special representative for Eurasian affairs to Ukraine and other countries to have in-depth communication with all parties to pursue a political resolution to the crisis, demonstrates the Ukrainian side's full recognition of the important role that China can play in promoting peace talks," he points out.
According to Chen Weihua, "Wednesday's telephone call shows that China is neither watching the fire from afar nor pouring oil on the flames. Instead, it is trying to leverage its relations with both Kyiv and Moscow to help resolve the crisis and restore peace through diplomatic means".