The foreign minister of Ukraine has exchanged opinions with his Chinese counterpart on how to bring peace to his war-torn country as Russia’s invasion drags on.
Dmytro Kuleba and Wang Yi met Wednesday in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said Kuleba told Wang that he is “convinced that a just peace in Ukraine is in China’s strategic interests,” calling on Beijing to play a role in realizing a peace plan advocated by Kyiv.
The Chinese foreign ministry said Wang referred to his country’s proposal for a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis, made jointly with Brazil in May, saying it gained widespread support in the international community.
The Chinese side said Kuleba expressed Ukraine’s intention to seriously consider the plan and showed willingness to hold talks with Russia.
According to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, Kuleba said Ukraine is ready to negotiate with Russia “at a certain stage” if Moscow is ready to talk “in good faith.” But it says Kuleba emphasized that no such readiness is currently observed on the Russian side.
Ukraine apparently hopes to gain China’s support for its own peace plan in an attempt to counter Russia, even though Beijing is deepening ties with Moscow.