Chinese President Xi Jinping unveils his country's 12-point plan designed to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine while urging both sides to engage in peace talks.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry presented Xi's plan on Friday morning, where officials called for an end to Western sanctions on Russia, measures to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities, establishing humanitarian corridors, and providing grain export from Ukraine.
China's 12-Point Plan
Beijing, which has continued to claim that it was taking a neutral stance in the war, has refused to criticize Russia's invasion of Ukraine but has repeatedly accused the West of provoking the conflict and "fanning the flames" by choosing to provide Kyiv with military supplies.
Recently, China and Russia have increasingly aligned their foreign policies to fight against the U.S.-led liberal international order. In a statement, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in what seemed to reaffirm those relations, as per the Associated Press.
The United States government has also accused China of potentially preparing to provide Russia with military assistance, an allegation that Beijing vehemently denied, saying it lacked evidence.
With China's stance on the matter, many are skeptical of Xi's 12-point plan and whether the proposal has any chance of moving forward and raises doubts about Beijing being an honest broker.
Before China announced the proposal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a crucial first step. "I think that, in general, the fact that China started talking about peace in Ukraine, I think that it is not bad. It is important for us that all states are on our side, on the side of justice," he said during a Friday news conference alongside the Spanish prime minister.
When asked about a potential meeting with Xi, Zelensky said that he was willing to meet with China's representatives. Speaking beside Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the Ukrainian president said that a meeting was in the interests of Kyiv, according to Reuters.
Read Also : Russia-Ukraine War Update
An End to the Conflict
The Chinese president, who was previously reported to have planned a meeting with his Russian counterpart in the next few months, was set to deliver a "peace speech" regarding the anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Zelensky said Ukrainian diplomats had only told him "general things" about China's 12-point plan. He noted that peace would happen sooner the more countries think about how to end the conflict with Russia.
In a statement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the top Chinese diplomat, Wang, shared some of the plan's main points with him in a meeting in New York. However, the former noted that Ukraine needed to see official documents to conclude the plan.
China's 12-point plan comes as Putin has threatened to use nuclear force in his war with Ukraine. On the other hand, Beijing has made it clear that it opposed not only the use of such forces but also the threat of deploying them in the conflict, said NDTV.
Related Article: Gaza Rocket Strikes Raise Tensions With Israel
