Ukrainian Foreign Minister: China Has Shown 'Clear Indication' to End War
Facts
- Returning from a two-day trip to China, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he received a 'clear indication' from Wang Yi, his Chinese counterpart, that China's leadership was committed to finding a 'fair and long' solution to the Russia-Ukraine war.[1]
- In a week where China has sought to show it's an international player in diplomacy, Beijing hosted 14 Palestinian factions for reconciliation talks, including rivals Hamas and Fatah, before going on to host Ukraine's Kuleba.[2]
- Earlier in Kuleba's trip, a statement from China's Foreign Ministry said: 'Kuleba restated…that [Kyiv] is ready to engage the Russian side in the negotiation process at a certain stage, when Russia is ready to negotiate in good faith, but emphasised that no such readiness is currently observed on the Russian side.'[3]
- In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kuleba said, 'I emphasized that Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace, not just an illusion of peace, and I appreciate that this position was reciprocated.'[4]
- It comes as Russian forces continued to make marginal gains in a number of Ukrainian regions in recent days, with reported advances north of Kharkiv city as well as near seven parts of the Donetsk region. Ukraine also claimed successes, with its 79th Tavrian Air Assault Brigade reporting that in the Kurakhove sector of Donetsk, they had repelled one of the largest Russian assaults since the start of the war.[5]
- Elsewhere, Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, said that an 18-year-old from the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was arrested in connection with the murder of the former Ukrainian lawmaker Iryna Farion. Klymenko alleged that the suspect rented at least three apartments in Lviv while preparing for Farion's assassination.[6]
Sources: [1]Ukrainska Pravda (a), [2]CNN, [3]Al Jazeera, [4]X, [5]Newsweek and [6]Ukrainska Pravda (b).
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CNN. In the past week, by inviting leaders of the Palestinian factions as well as the foreign minister of Ukraine, China has tried to position itself as a leader in global diplomacy. However, China exerts little influence in the Middle East, and it has cozied up to Russia in the course of its invasion of Ukraine. As such, it's not clear that China can be successful in either region.
- Pro-China narrative, as provided by Ministry of Foreign Affairs China. China and Ukraine have had a friendship and entered into a strategic partnership more than 10 years ago. As indicated before, China remains firmly committed to working for a political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. As it enters its third year, the risk of escalation and spillover into a wider conflict remains.
- Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Ukrainska Pravda. During Kuleba's visit to China, it was made clear to the Chinese foreign minister that territorial integrity was at the heart of any possible peace talks with Russia. China has given us positive signals that it too seeks a just resolution to the war.