Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds after the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing (Image: Reuters)
Chinese President Xi wants to maintain the momentum Beijing has gained after acting as a mediator between Saudi Arabia and Iran and see if the Russo-Ukrainian conflict can be brought to an end
Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, as he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week. wall street journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The people cited above said the meeting is expected to take place virtually and reflect Beijing’s willingness to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine and end the ongoing war.
The report said that Xi Jinping is considering visiting other European countries as part of his Russia trip.
The development comes weeks after China released a peace plan on February 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Russia.
The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that Xi Jinping plans to visit Moscow this year.
However, China scored a diplomatic victory last week after brokering a diplomatic breakthrough between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The trip is Xi’s first overseas trip after being elected president by the country’s rubber-stamp parliament. It is also being seen as an attempt to present himself as a global statesman.
The trip also signals that Beijing wants to capitalize on the momentum gained from the Saudi-Iran deal, which shows China emerging as a major player in West Asia – a position previously dominated by the US.
However, the report noted that achieving a similar feat in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war would be no easy task. Both sides are adamant and have shown no interest in sitting down for talks.
The Chinese peace plan urged both sides to seek a political solution to the conflict and an end to unilateral sanctions, and issued a warning to Moscow regarding escalating the conflict with nuclear weapons. Russia welcomed the proposal.
China has denied that it plans to send arms to Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier had a telephone conversation with Xi Jinping to mark 30 years of relations between the two countries, weeks before the conflict began. Following the publication of the peace plan, he said he was willing to hold talks with Xi.
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