Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky claims he had a “long and meaningful” phone conversation with China’s Xi Jinping, their first contact since the outbreak of the Russian civil war.
He stated on Twitter that he believed the contact, along with the appointment of an ambassador to Beijing, would “provide a significant boost to the development of our bilateral relations.”
China verified the request, adding that it has “always stood for peace.”
Beijing has maintained a neutral stance on the Russian invasion until now.
However, China has never condemned the invasion, and President Xi paid a two-day state visit to Russia last month.
He referred to President Vladimir Putin as his “dear friend”, proposed a vague 12-point peace plan, and insisted China was on the correct side of history. However, he made no promises to supply Russia with arms.
Within days of the visit, President Zelensky invited the Chinese leader to Kyiv for discussions, noting that they had had contact before the outbreak of the full-scale conflict but none since February 2022.
China’s CCTV quoted President Xi as saying on Wednesday’s phone call that China would “neither watch the fire from the other side nor add fuel to the fire, let alone profit from the crisis.”
