It was the call that was missing.
Chinese leader
Xi Jinping
called his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelensky for the first time on Wednesday and asked him to start negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, with
a serious warning
that seems to replicate Moscow's rhetoric.
Xi warned that
"there is no winner in a nuclear war,"
state media said, in a long-awaited conversation after Beijing said it wanted to act as a peace broker, and after making
a
more-than-friendly visit to Moscow in late March.
without
winking at Kiev.
The call to Zelensky was expected at the time, but it never happened.
The President of China, Xi Jinping.
Photo: AP
Now, Xi's government
will send a "special representative" to Ukraine
to discuss a possible "political agreement," said a government statement reported on state television.
A biased mediator
China
has tried to appear neutral
in the war but has refused to criticize Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement ahead of the February 2020 invasion saying their governments had
"boundless friendship."
Xi's government released a peace proposal in February, calling for a ceasefire and talks.
But in March, he again insisted that the relationship between Beijing and Moscow is a priority and invited Putin to visit China.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Mosu.
Photo: Reuters
Xi also said then that China and Russia are
strategic partners.
"Negotiation is the only viable way out," state television said in a report on Xi's comments to Zelensky.
"There is no winner in a nuclear war," the report said.
"All parties involved should keep calm and restraint in dealing with the nuclear issue and truly look to the future and fate of themselves and humanity as a whole and work together to manage the crisis."
Developing
Associated Press
ap
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