Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning attended a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on January 15, 2024.
Pedro Pardo | AFP | Getty Images
China has denied the Ukrainian president’s claim that China is pressuring other countries not to attend the Ukraine peace summit, with the foreign ministry insisting that China’s position on the issue is “fair and legitimate”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday alleged at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that Russia was using Beijing’s influence in Asia to sabotage the June peace talks.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning rejected the accusations on Monday, saying “hegemonism and power politics are not China’s diplomatic style.”
“China is not pressuring any other country,” she said, adding that Beijing’s position on the talks was “open and transparent.”
The peace talks, scheduled to take place in Switzerland on June 15-16, will focus on Russia’s more than two-year invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Zelensky said the summit will cover topics such as Ukraine’s peace plan, nuclear security, food security and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. More than 100 countries and international organizations are expected to attend, he said.
China has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and dialogue regarding the Ukrainian war and says it will contribute to promoting peace talks.
But Mao reiterated that Beijing would likely skip the talks because the Swiss talks did not meet three key conditions: recognition of Russia and Ukraine, equal participation of all parties and fair discussion of all peace proposals.
“It seems that this conference has yet to meet these three elements, and that is precisely why China cannot participate in the conference,” she added.
Russia not invited to the summit.
Mao said China was in close contact with Ukraine and Switzerland and stressed that Beijing had “attached great importance” to the summit from the beginning.
Zelenskiy’s accusations of Chinese interference came as he spoke about China’s role in the war, even calling China a “tool” of Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a translation of his remarks.
Beijing is seen as a growing ally of Moscow, and the two countries have touted “unrestricted” friendship since February 2022 in an attempt to counter US global influence.
Putin recently met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and agreed to further strengthen trade, even in the face of Western pressure and sanctions aimed at preventing Russia from supporting war efforts.
Zelensky warned on Sunday that if China continues to support Russia, it could prolong the war and have further negative consequences for the world.
He also committed Asian leaders to attend a peace summit in Switzerland and called on Asia to support an end to the conflict.
President Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine has never asked Asian countries for military assistance, but stressed that his country still needs political and humanitarian support.
While many Asian countries call for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, stances on the war in the region remain complicated, with countries such as China, India and Pakistan refraining from condemning Russian aggression.
