China threatens to boycott Ukraine peace talks without Russia, Politico
Head of China Xi Jinping (Getty Images)
China may boycott peace talks on resolving the war in Ukraine if Europe does not allow Russia to participate in them, according to Politico.
The news agency spoke with officials who reported that China is trying to persuade Europe to allow Russia to participate in future peace talks, possibly to be held in Switzerland.
Otherwise, China will boycott such meetings.
"That message was amplified, they say, during Chinese special envoy Li Hui's European tour earlier this month to discuss the future of Ukraine," the material states.
And officially, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Li Hui promised "support [for] the timely convening of a peace conference with equal participation of all parties."
China returns to the issue of war
Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping presented his vision of a diplomatic resolution to Russia's war against Ukraine and appointed a special representative to address the issue. This representative is China's former ambassador to Russia, Li Hui.
After his appointment, Li Hui visited Russia, Ukraine, and the EU to discuss the Chinese initiative. Kyiv did not appreciate Beijing's diplomatic efforts, as Ukraine already has its own Peace Formula. After that, China forgot about the issue of Russia's war against Ukraine for a long time.
It was previously reported that China's special envoy, Li Hui, would visit Ukraine, Poland, Germany, France, and Russia. His tour began on March 2.
The Chinese diplomat has already visited Ukraine, as well as Brussels and Poland. Li Hui discussed Russia's war against Ukraine, calling it the "Ukrainian crisis."
Against the backdrop of the special envoy's tour, China's Foreign Minister announced that Beijing supports holding a peace conference on Ukraine.
For more on why China has sent an inspector to Ukraine and Russia again, read the material on RBC-Ukraine.
