Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a telephone meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.
Beijing is working to position itself as a peace broker in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.
- The call marked the first meeting between the two leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
- Xi reportedly urged Zelensky to begin negotiations with Moscow.
- Beijing
said on Wednesday that a Chinese envoy will travel to Ukraine and other
countries to help facilitate "in-depth communication" on a political
settlement between Moscow and Kyiv.
- Zelensky said in a statement about the meeting that “there can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises.”
- Many Western capitals do not think Beijing can be an impartial mediator between Kyiv and Moscow due to its deepening ties with Russia.
- The U.S. has previously rejected a 12-point plan proposed by Beijing for ending the conflict.
- The proposal calls for an immediate end to all sanctions against Russia that are not endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.
- Russia holds veto power in the council along with China, France, the U.K., and the U.S.
