Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke Wednesday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Moscow’s most important diplomatic partner, in the first phone call between the two leaders since the start of Russia’s invasion, CNN reports.
“I had a long and meaningful phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” Zelensky said.
Andrii Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, described the phone call as “an important dialogue” in a Telegram post Wednesday.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV also reported the call, during which Xi confirmed that that an envoy would travel to Ukraine and other countries to help conduct “in-depth communication” with all parties for a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.
In a briefing on Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry said its envoy to Ukraine will be Li Hui, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs. Li is the former Chinese ambassador to Russia, who served in the post from 2009 to 2019.
The ministry did not provide further details as to when Li would make the trip and which other countries he would be visiting.
Beijing has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion or make any public call for Russia to withdraw its troops. Its officials have instead repeatedly said that the “legitimate” security concerns of all countries must be taken into account and accused NATO and the US of fueling the conflict.
Despite its claims of neutrality and calls for peace talks, Beijing has offered Moscow much-needed diplomatic and economic support throughout the invasion.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Moscow had taken notice of China’s willingness to facilitate negotiations with Ukraine following the phone call between Xi and Zelensky.
“We note the readiness of the Chinese side to make efforts to establish the negotiation process,” Zakharova said during a press conference on Wednesday.
However, she said she also noted that under current conditions negotiations are unlikely and blamed Kyiv for rejecting Moscow’s initiatives.
