Ukraine's Defense Minister: If China ensures Russian withdrawal, it can broker peace
Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov (GettyImages)
Ukraine is ready to accept China as a mediator in a peace initiative to end the war only if Beijing can compel Russia to withdraw from all the territories it has seized, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with The Straits Times.
"Give me evidence that Russia is ready to live in peaceful coexistence with Ukraine. The first signal should be the full liberation of Ukrainian territories. Let them show us a goodwill gesture and withdraw their armed forces from Ukrainian territory,” he said.
Reznikov said that only after the withdrawal of Russian troops Ukraine will believe China has an influence on Russia.
"If they do not, sorry, for what (reason) will we sit and waste our time?" he added.
The Defense Minister believes that China probably has levers of influence over Russia, but its intentions remain unclear.
"My perception is that China (has become) the older brother and Russia the younger brother. The older brother can persuade the younger brother to stop this bloody war," Reznikov said. He added that is more a hope than a belief.
China did not support Ukraine in the war against Russia, as Western countries did. Beijing said it maintains a neutral position and opposes pressure on Russia with sanctions. China has announced its intention to act as a peacemaker in the war and released the so-called "peace plan", which consists of 12 points. Beijing called for a ceasefire and peaceful negotiations but did not mention the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. Ukraine, Europe, and the US criticized Beijing's "peace initiatives", as China and Russia declared they had a “no limits” friendship ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
