China issues peace plan; Zelenskyy says he'll await details
Ukraine’s leader is giving qualified support for China’s new involvement in trying to resolve the war in his country
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — China called for a cease-fire and peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on Friday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautiously welcomed Beijing’s involvement -- but said success would depend on actions not words.
Beijing claims to have a neutral stance in the war that began one year ago, but has also said it has a “no limits friendship” with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, or even refer to it as an invasion. It has accused the West of provoking the conflict and “fanning the flames” by providing Ukraine with defensive arms.
“I believe that the fact that China started talking about Ukraine is not bad,” Zelenskyy told a news conference Friday. “But the question is what follows the words. The question is in the steps and where they will lead to.”
The plan released by China’s Foreign Ministry mainly reiterated long-held positions, and analysts said Beijing would be an unlikely broker.
