China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has presented twelve-point proposal (you will switch to another service) To end Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
Among other things, China presents a ceasefire, compliance with the rules of war, giving up sanctions, starting peace negotiations and refraining from using nuclear weapons.
China’s proposal includes a clause emphasizing that the sovereignty of all countries must be respected, although it does not directly name Ukraine or Russia. The proposal does not specify what this would mean in the case of Ukraine, as Russia has annexed territories belonging to Ukraine.
The proposal also condemns the “Cold War mentality”, which can be seen as referring to the United States and the expansion of NATO. According to China, “one country’s security must not be promoted at the expense of another country’s security. The area is not safe [yrittää] achieve by strengthening or expanding military alliances.”
China also states in its proposal that it opposes “unilateral sanctions that do not have the approval of the UN Security Council”. According to the proposal, countries implementing these “must stop using unilateral sanctions and far-reaching legal orders against other countries”.
The proposal also states that “nuclear weapons should not be used and nuclear wars should not be fought. Threats with nuclear weapons must be resisted.”
Other parts of the proposal call for the protection of prisoners of war, an end to attacks on civilians, guaranteeing the safety of nuclear power plants and facilitating the export of grain.
Criticism of the proposal for its focus on Russia
Ukraine called China’s proposal good at first, but urged China to do more for peace.
– China should do everything in its power to end the war and restore peace to Ukraine and call on Russia to withdraw its troops, a representative of the Ukrainian Embassy in China Zhanna Leshchynska said at a news conference in Beijing on Friday.
Leshchynska pointed out that Ukraine was not consulted before the proposal was made public.
– As a neutral party, China should speak to both sides: Russia and Ukraine. Now we see that China is not talking to Ukraine.
Ambassador of the European Union to China Jorge Toledo told the same press conference that China’s proposal cannot even be considered a peace proposal.
The United States also criticized China’s proposal right from the start. National Security Advisor by Jake Sullivan the war could end tomorrow if Russia stopped attacking Ukraine and withdrew its troops.
– My first reaction to that is that it could end at point one, which is that the sovereignty of all countries should be respected, Sullivan said on the US channel to CNN (you will switch to another service).
German government spokesman Wolfgang Buchner said that China’s proposal lacks the most essential thing: the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier in turn said he doubts China’s sincerity.
– Every proposal leading towards a just peace is welcome […]. However, it is still questionable whether China wants to play such a constructive role, Buchner said.
Professor of Chinese Foreign Policy Li Mingjiang From Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, the news agency told AP that China’s proposal is “quite pro-Russia”.
China’s behavior during the war has been contradictory
So far, China has said that it will maintain a neutral position regarding the war in Ukraine. China has said it supports peace, but has not condemned the attack launched by Russia.
The United States has previously expressed its concern that China would start supplying material and armed aid to Russia. US Secretary of State by Antony Blinken according to the United States has evidence that China is planning to send aid to Russia.
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg there are no signs that China is supplying Russia with “lethal aid”.
– However, we have seen signs that China might plan and consider providing military aid to Russia, Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Tallinn on Friday.
China has denied information about supplying weapons to Russia.
– It is the United States and not China that supplies endless weapons to the battlefield, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin said.
Behind the scenes, China’s support for Russia has been greater than publicly reported, estimates the director of the Foreign Policy Institute Mika Aaltola In an interview with Radio Suomen.
– According to my information, China participates in supporting Russia more widely than is imagined, but China does not want to appear that way. This peace plan seems to mask that situation. After all, there is hope for more harmonious warfare, avoiding civilian casualties and restoring humanitarian laws to force.
Russia is also not willing to accept the ideas of the report presented by China, Aaltola estimates.
– Putin thinks that this is a struggle of wills and that the West is ultimately less willing than mother Russia, which is also ready to sacrifice more of its sons in this matter than the West, which supplies weapons to Ukraine but does not directly participate in the war.
Source: AFP, AP, CNN, Reuters, STT