BEIJING (Dispatches) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on Wednesday that his government will send a peace envoy to Ukraine and other nations, state media said, after Beijing said it wants to act as mediator in Russia’s war with the country.
A government statement reported by state TV gave no indication whether the Chinese envoy would visit Russia.
“China will send a special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs to Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” the statement said.
“There is no winner in a nuclear war,” the statement warned.
Xi’s government released a peace proposal in February and called for a cease-fire and talks.
“Negotiation is the only viable way out,” state TV said in a report on Xi’s comments to Zelensky.
“There is no winner in a nuclear war,” the report said. “All parties concerned should remain calm and restrained in dealing with the nuclear issue and truly look at the future and destiny of themselves and humanity as a whole and work together to manage the crisis.”
Zelenskyy said he had “a long and meaningful phone call” with Xi. His press officer, Serhii Nykyforov, said Zelensky and Xi spoke for nearly an hour.
“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” Zelensky said in a Facebook post without elaborating.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday also called again for a “peace group” to broker an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, saying anything could be discussed once the nations sat down to talk peace.
“There are a lot of things to be discussed - Crimea, other territories, NATO,” Lula said during a trip to Spain when asked about Crimea. He said it was not up to him to say who owned Crimea. “That is a discussion between Russia and Ukraine.”
Lula spoke at a news conference alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a firm advocate of the European view that Ukraine is defending itself against Russian aggression.
Sanchez welcomed Lula’s explanation of his peace initiative, according to a joint statement, but told him Spain supported the 10-point peace plan of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that calls for Russian withdrawal from all invaded territory, including Crimea.
“I want to thank Lula for his involvement and interest in promoting a group of mediating countries to promote peace,” Sanchez told the news conference, adding they differed over “nuances” on the kind of peace sought.
Sanchez said a “just and lasting peace” would come only after the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.
Lula has pitched himself as a peace broker to end the war, which began when Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. His proposal, based on Brazil’s tradition of non-intervention and neutrality, calls for a group of nations not involved in the war to engage both Russia and Ukraine in talks.
But he angered many in the West this month when he called for the United States and its European allies to stop supplying arms to Ukraine saying they were “prolonging” the war, prompting a White House spokesperson to accuse him of “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda”.