Ukraine and Russia must themselves take the initiative to overcome the crisis and end the armed conflict, because there is no panacea in this matter. This was stated by Chinese President Xi Jinping following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, the press service of the Chinese Foreign Ministry reports.
“China‘s position on the Ukrainian issue is consistent and clear, its essence is to promote peace negotiations and a political settlement. There is no miracle cure for the crisis, all parties need to take the initiative and, through the accumulation of mutual trust, create conditions for the cessation of hostilities and the start of peace negotiations,” Xi said.
He noted that Beijing supports Europe’s desire to resolve the conflict and is ready to work with Paris to bring the warring parties to negotiations and prevent actions that will lead to escalation.
At the same time, Politico notes that Macron failed to convince the Chinese leader to change his position on the Ukrainian conflict.
“Xi backed up his longstanding stance, saying the parties have ‘reasonable security concerns’ and gave no hint that he would use his influence to end the conflict,” the newspaper writes.
At the same time, Xi said that peace talks between Kiev and Moscow should begin as soon as possible. But the positions of both sides must be taken into account, as well as be guided by the UN Charter. Only in this way, according to the Chinese leader, it will be possible to achieve a balanced and sustainable structure of European security.
Politico, citing a French diplomat who attended the meeting between the two leaders, writes that Macron tried to warn China against supplying weapons to Russia, but did not seem to be successful in this.
“The President urged Xi not to make supplies to Russia that would help her in the war against Ukraine. Xi said that this war is not his business, ”the source quoted the source as saying.
In total, the talks between the leaders lasted about an hour and a half. Politico noted that at the final press conference, Macron spoke about twice as long as Xi. And the Chinese leader at this time looked annoyed and showed impatience. Before the trip to China, Macron’s entourage stated that Paris would consider it a success if the President of the People’s Republic of China, after the visit of the French leader, called on Vladimir Zelensky to take part in a long-term dialogue with Moscow. “To reason with Russia“. What Macron and von der Leyen want from China Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron called for a speedy resumption of… 06 April 16:20
At the same time, on the evening of April 6, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who also made a working trip to Beijing, after negotiations with the Chinese side, said that Xi Jinping was ready to talk with Zelensky, but only when for this “there will be appropriate conditions have been created.
Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, commenting on the trip of the French president to China and the statements of the parties following the visit, expressed the opinion that Macron visited Beijing in order to improve his rating, which had sagged against the background of an increase in the retirement age.
“Macron needs to think about what is happening in France, and not give advice. As far as I know, if the elections were held today, another candidate would have won … And he went to China to improve his rating. You have to take care of your country.”
– Volodin said in an interview with Pavel Zarubin on the Russia 1 channel.
Before the trip of Macron and von der Leyen to Beijing, the European media wrote that the leaders would try to convince China to change its position on the Ukrainian conflict, stop supporting Moscow and condemn its actions. At the same time, analysts were skeptical about the prospects of European politicians in China, noting that they use the wrong levers, in particular financial ones, to put pressure on China.
Foreign publications also reported that after Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow at the end of March, Zelensky tried to get a conversation with the Chinese leader, but Beijing refused.