Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the conditions for peace talks to end Russia's war against Ukraine are not suitable for Beijing.
The American publication Bloomberg writes about this.
Ukraine is pushing for a high-level Global Peace Formula summit next month, but the date is likely to be pushed back to April or May due to a lack of commitment from world leaders, the newspaper reports, citing its sources.
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Switzerland had previously said it was open to hosting the summit and its diplomats were trying to gauge interest from partners — including from China.
China's participation is considered especially important given the influence Beijing exerts over Russia, a key diplomatic ally.
— At present, conditions are not ripe for the parties to return to the negotiating table, — Wang Yi said in an interview on stage at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, without giving a reason.
He added that China “has done a lot of constructive work”, and plans to continue to play “a positive role”, he said, emphasizing that his country is not solely responsible for resolving the crisis.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who is also in Munich for the annual security conference, met with Wang Yi to persuade him to attend the peace summit, the people told the agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.
— I met with my Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss bilateral relations, trade and the need to restore a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. I briefed Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Ukraine's vision for the upcoming Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. We agreed on the need to maintain Ukrainian-Chinese contacts at all levels and continue our dialogue, — written by Kuleba.
Diversity of participants
A year ago, Wang said at the same conference that China would soon publish a document on a political settlement to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. The 12-point position paper, which emerged a few weeks later, was largely met with skepticism by Western countries.
Ukraine's allies are interested in having representatives of emerging powers, including Brazil, South Africa and India, present at any high-level meeting.
Several countries, including China, have said they want Russia at the negotiating table. Kyiv opposes this proposal, especially when the conditions for a just peace will not be widely approved.
Previously, national security advisers from dozens of countries held four meetings to pave the way for a higher-level meeting, most recently in Switzerland, but progress was limited and China attended only one . A smaller group of officials also met in December, as previously reported by Bloomberg.
The peace plan proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky includes respect for United Nations principles such as territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country and ensuring food and energy security.
