At the end of the second day of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has finally spoken, as the international community closely scrutinizes Beijing’s diplomatic initiatives and its position vis-à-vis of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With our correspondent in Ukraine, Stephane Siohan
Volodymyr Zelensky’s telephone line is very congested, and for good reason, he talks almost every day with a certain number of heads of state or international leaders.
However, the connection between Kiev and Beijing leaves something to be desired, and for good reason, the Ukrainian head of state at war and Xi Jinping never spoke on the phone after the start of the Russian invasion.
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Shortly after the first joint statement by the Russian and Ukrainian presidents on Tuesday, Zelensky said he in turn invited China to dialogue. Even if for the moment, the signals do not necessarily point in this direction. He added that he was awaiting a response to his invitation.
“ We offered China to become a partner in the search for a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine “, thus declared the Ukrainian president, who adds that he receives signals, but no concrete proposals.
In reality, the authorities in kyiv are seeking to establish a channel of communication in order to avoid the scenario that everyone fears: that China decides to deliver armaments to the Russian forces.
On Monday, shortly after Xi Jinping’s arrival in Moscow, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence said that according to Kiev, there were no Chinese weapons deployed in Ukraine, except for chips found in the trade. A way of temporizing and saying that it would be good if it stopped there…
At this stage, Ukrainian hopes are pinned on the weakening of Moscow in the China-Russia strategic duo, and on discreet pressure from Beijing to push the Kremlin to let go.