(Finance) – A “long and significant” interview that lasted almost an hour. More than 14 months after the start of the Russian aggression, the Chinese president, Xi Jinpinghad the first telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and announced the sending of a Chinese delegation to promote the “political solution” of the crisis. A dialogue that has been awaited for weeks, following Xi’s visit to Moscow by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Beijing’s formulation of a plan for the political solution to the conflict.
“I had a long and meaningful phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” he wrote on Twitter. Ukrainian president. “Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way out – said the Chinese president –. There are no winners in a nuclear war”. In addressing the nuclear issue – added Xi – “all interested parties should remain calm and sober, truly focus on the future and destiny of themselves and all humanity, and jointly manage and control the crisis”.
After the call Zelensky appointed Pavel Ryabikin Ambassador of Ukraine to the People’s Republic of China.
“We are happy that Xi and Zelensky have spoken. We have been asking for China to listen to the Ukrainian perspective for a long time – commented the spokesman for the American Security Council, John Kirby –. We don’t know if this phone call leads to anything. It is up to Ukraine and Zelensky to decide whether they want to sit at the peace negotiating table.”
He also spoke of a “positive” phone call Brussels. “It is good that the call between Presidents Zelensky and Xi has finally taken place and the channels of communication are open. The EU has always encouraged China to share the global responsibility to defend and uphold the UN Charter and the principles of international law”, reports a senior EU official regarding the telephone conversation between the two leaders. “The EU – added the senior official – takes note of China’s intention to send a special envoy to Ukraine (and other countries)” and “awaits further details on this initiative”.
“The talks between Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping is a step forward, we have to believe in it, but it is not yet the solution to the problem and it will still take a lot of work to say that we are one step away from the ceasefire ” said the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
There Russia, for its part, notes the Chinese willingness to work for a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine, but maintains that Kiev continues to reject any peace initiative. “We note the willingness of the Chinese side to make efforts to establish the negotiation process,” she said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a note, according to reports from the Ria Novosti news agency. However – he continued – Kiev continues to reject “any sensible initiative aimed at a political and diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, and a possible agreement for negotiations” by setting ultimatums with “deliberately unrealistic requests”. The spokeswoman also said that “the Ukrainian authorities and their Western proxies have already demonstrated their ability to carry out peaceful initiatives. Therefore it is unlikely that any call for peace will be adequately received by Washington-controlled puppets”.