Ukraine war: Foreign minister says China supports ceasefire but does not agree to step in
- In calls to French and Italian foreign ministers, Wang Yi says Beijing hopes a ceasefire comes ‘as soon as possible’ and that the crisis is ‘an issue of European security’
- Europeans have identified China as a potential peacemaker, given the close ties between Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin
China supports “a ceasefire to stop the war” in Ukraine “as soon as possible”, foreign minister Wang Yi told his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday, as Europe continued to lobby Beijing to step in diplomatically.
The comments came as talks in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya between Russia and Ukrainian foreign ministers finished without any breakthrough, and as gruesome images of the Russian bombardment of civilian targets sent shock waves across Europe.
China has yet to condemn the Russian invasion and has offered rhetorical backing for Moscow’s blaming of the West for the war, which has rumbled into its third week.
European governments have identified China as a potential peacemaker, given the close ties between President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
They have pressed this potential role on a series of calls this week, during which Beijing has repeatedly called for a diplomatic resolution, but made no firm commitment on the part it might play.