© via REUTERS
A meeting is in the works between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky. According to Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that would happen next week via video connection. Before that, he would go to Moscow to also speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
For several weeks now, China has been trying to play a role in the war that Russia has started in Ukraine and to play a mediating role in it. There is international concern about this, because China is a notorious ally of Vladimir Putin’s country. A few weeks ago, a Chinese plan for peace in Ukraine was very badly received because it was too vague.
Next week, Xi Jinping would go one step further and head to Moscow for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine. There he would meet the Russian president, reports Reuters. Putin had already invited the Chinese leader for some time, but now it’s really happening.
It is striking that Xi will not only speak to Putin in Moscow. According to WSJ during that visit to Russia, the Chinese leader would also have a video call with Volodimir Zelensky. It is not clear what his intention is with the conversation with the Ukrainian president. It would be the first time the two have spoken to each other.
Confirmation of the visit and the talks is not yet available. If it comes to that, Xi’s arrival would be a big event for Putin. He sees the war as a conflict against the united West. He sees Xi as an ally. But if he also spoke to Zelensky during his visit to Moscow, that would be another stunt by Ukraine. That country hopes to convince Xi not to provide Russia with military or other support.