China calls on Europe to play its part for ceasefire in Ukraine

BEIJING – China’s top diplomat Wang Yi urged Europe to play a role in

supporting peace talks

for Russia’s war in Ukraine, though the United States warned that Beijing’s proposals would effectively freeze the Kremlin’s territorial gains. 

He told Mr Emmanuel Bonne, a diplomatic adviser to the French President, in a phone call on Thursday that “China looks forward to France and other European countries” playing their due role.

“A ceasefire, stopping the war, resuming peace talks and a political settlement of the crisis should become the strategic consensus between China and Europe,” Mr Wang said, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The call came just after

Chinese President Xi Jinping completed a state visit to Russia,

where President Vladimir Putin pledged even closer ties and hailed Beijing’s proposals for ending the fighting.

Mr Xi has sought to reboot his image as a global statesman, with China helping to secure a deal to improve ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia and announcing its own plan for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

That proposal would freeze Russian troops in place on Ukrainian territory and is seen by Kyiv as a non-starter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to continue fighting until the Russian troops depart. Moscow has shown no sign of stopping its attacks, and continues to claim portions of eastern Ukraine and Crimea as its territory after referendums widely denounced as illegal on annexation.

The US and its allies have rejected the Chinese initiative as biased towards Russia, and Ukraine has reacted cautiously. However, US administration officials worry that dismissing China’s proposal outright could send a message that Washington is not interested in peace.

Also, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced he would travel next week to China to speak to Mr Xi about the proposal to negotiate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will begin a five-day visit to China on Sunday, and French President Emmanuel Macron said he would visit in early April to push Beijing to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Bloomberg