Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to meet with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, as early as next week amid calls from the White House for him to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Some people wonder what the Chinese president's aim is in visiting Putin first before discussing with Zelensky. This could be because Xi has been conducting various cooperative exercises with Russia and not Ukraine, seeing Moscow as a close ally of China.
Xi Jinping's Stance on the Russia-Ukraine War
On Monday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said American officials wanted the Chinese leader to discuss Russia's invasion. He said that Xi should personally hear about the Ukrainian president's perspective and not only Moscow's regarding the conflict.
A prior report revealed Xi's alleged plans to meet with Zelensky following his visit to Putin's territory in Moscow. Sullivan added that they have already spoken with their Ukrainian counterparts, who told them there had yet to be a confirmation of a telephone call or video conference with the Chinese leader.
The national security adviser said such a confirmation would be ideal because it could bring more balance and perspective to how the People's Republic of China (PRC) is approaching the whole situation between Russia and Ukraine, as per Yahoo News.
Last month, United States President Joe Biden said he wanted to talk with Xi following the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon hovering off the coast of South Carolina. While no call has occurred, Sullivan on Monday said that the two global leaders would speak following the conclusion of the Chinese parliament's annual meeting, where Xi successfully won a third five-year term.
The Chinese government also unveiled a peace proposal for Russia and Ukraine last month, which called for the territorial integrity of both nations to be respected. However, it failed to outline what would happen to land that Russia had already occupied since the beginning of the invasion last year.
Furthermore, the plan called for a stop to unilateral sanctions against Moscow. It appeared to have included a veiled shot at NATO where it said that the "security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs."
Diplomatic Visits
Last week, the Kremlin refused to comment on several reports that said Xi would travel to the Russian capital on March 21. The Chinese president, who broke tradition with his third five-year term, has long considered the Russian president his "old friend," according to Politico.
On the other hand, Zelensky's spokesman, Sergii Nikoforov, did not deny nor confirm the upcoming talks with Xi. He said that he did not have any additional information to reveal to the public.
In recent weeks, the United States government has accused China of considering sending lethal arms to Russia, something that Beijing has called "slandering" tactics. On the other hand, Zelensky said he was open to China's peace proposal and wanted to discuss it with Xi despite Western criticism of Beijing's alleged pro-Russia bias.
The Kremlin also said on Monday that it was not ruling out a potential visit of Putin to the summit of leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies scheduled for September 9 to September 10 and will be held in New Delhi, said Reuters.