Kremlin welcomes Xi-Zelensky call on Ukraine, but says Russia’s aims remain the same

MOSCOW – The Kremlin said on Thursday it welcomes anything that will bring the end of the Ukraine conflict closer when asked what it thought of a phone call a day earlier between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

But the Kremlin said it still needs to achieve the aims of what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Mr Xi and Mr Zelensky on Wednesday spoke for the first time since Russia sent its troops into Ukraine in February 2022, fulfilling a longstanding goal of Kyiv, which has publicly sought such talks for months.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is familiar with the details of what the two leaders discussed and said their stances on the conflict are well known.

“We are ready to welcome anything that could hasten the end of the conflict in Ukraine and Russia achieving all the goals it has set itself,” Mr Peskov said of their phone call.

“As for the fact that they communicated, that is a sovereign matter for each of these countries and a question of their bilateral dialogue,” he added.

Asked if Russia and China have discussed restoring Ukraine to its 1991 borders during a recent visit to Moscow by the Chinese leader, Mr Peskov said: “There was no discussion of that.”

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said while Kyiv’s allies also welcome Mr Xi’s reaching out to Mr Zelensky, it has not changed the fact that China has still not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Maybe this war will end at the negotiating table,” he said. 

But he stressed that “it is for Ukraine to decide what are the conditions for talks and what format any talks should have”. 

In any case, he said, “any possibility for meaningful negotiations requires that Ukraine has the necessary military strength to send a very clear message to President (Vladimir) Putin that he will not win on the battlefield”.  

To this end, Mr Stoltenberg disclosed that Nato allies and partners have provided Ukraine with 1,550 armoured vehicles and 230 tanks to form units and help it retake territory from Russian forces.

The deliveries represent “more than 98 percent of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine”, he said at a news conference.

“In total we have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armoured brigades. This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory,” he said.

Nato member countries have also provided anti-aircraft systems and artillery, while Poland and the Czech Republic have given Soviet-built MiG-29 aircraft. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained on weapons used by Nato.

Mr Stoltenberg emphasised this “unprecedented military support to Ukraine” but cautioned that “we should never underestimate Russia”.

Moscow is mobilising more ground forces and “willing to send in thousands of troops with very high casualty rates”, he said.

In the face of what appears will be a prolonged conflict, Nato countries “must stay the course and continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to prevail”, he said.

Mr Stoltenberg said a Nato summit in July in Lithuania would set out plans for a “multi-year programme of support” for Ukraine.

Last week, representatives of Nato members gathered in Ramstein in Germany for talks hosted by the United States to review the defence systems and supplies Ukraine says it needs.

Mr Zelensky has urged Western allies to send modern fighter aircraft and long-range missiles to help repel Russian troops, but Nato countries have so far stopped short of supplying Western-made jets.

The Kremlin has sought to portray the involvement of Nato countries in bolstering Ukraine’s defences as the alliance being directly involved in the conflict, something the alliance denies.

Ukraine shares few details of its operational planning with US officials, but its planned counteroffensive appears likely to unfold in the country’s south, including along Ukraine’s coastline on the Sea of Azov, near the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula, US officials say.

While Ukrainian officials have said that their goal is to break through dug-in Russian defences and create a widespread collapse in Russia’s army, US officials have assessed that the counteroffensive is unlikely to dramatically shift momentum in Ukraine’s favour. REUTERS, AFP, NYTIMES