Zelenskyy asks Trump to involve Xi Jinping in putting pressure on Putin
Photo: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (Getty Images)
Ahead of US President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ukraine proposed involving Beijing in putting pressure on Russia, according to a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a briefing.
After meeting with Trump in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Zelenskyy spoke about a request he made to the US leader ahead of his talks with Xi Jinping.
According to the Ukrainian president, he proposed that Trump encourage the Chinese leader to reach out to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"President Trump will have a meeting with the leader of China. I said to the President very openly that we think that if he will also engage President Xi, he has influence on Putin, I think so," Zelenskyy said.
Thus, Kyiv hopes that China can also use its contacts with Russia to influence the Kremlin's position.
Zelenskyy did not specify what exactly the Chinese leader should say to the Russian president. At the same time, his remarks suggest that Ukraine would like to see a more active role for Beijing in diplomatic efforts to end the war.
As is known, the Chinese president will visit the US on September 23-25 at the invitation of Donald Trump. Their meeting in Washington is scheduled for September 24.
Earlier, ahead of his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump said that the war in Ukraine would end "more quickly than people understand."
At the same time, Zelenskyy said he hoped to end the war before winter with US assistance. During the meeting, Trump also said he could hold new talks with Vladimir Putin.
