Xi Jinping on Russia’s war against Ukraine: "This is European conflict"
Chinese leader Xi Jinping denied that preparations were underway for a meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China on Ukraine’s future and said Europeans should take part in the negotiations.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said this, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports, according to Censor.NET.
On Ukraine
Russia was the first to mention such a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit of Asia-Pacific countries in Shenzhen. According to Steinmeier, at their meeting in Beijing on 30 October, Xi was surprised by the question about such plans and asked where the rumours had come from.
Steinmeier explained that he had raised the subject because he, too, had read such reports. In response, the Chinese leader referred to the summit in Shenzhen on 18–19 November but said no preparations for a meeting on Ukraine were "on the horizon".
"He explicitly said that this is a European conflict in which Europeans must be at the negotiating table," the German president added.
Beijing’s position
Both Chinese and Western sources cited by the newspaper say Beijing is unwilling to take on such a role. According to them, Beijing wants neither to host such a summit nor to assume responsibility for a peace agreement and security guarantees.
"They want a G2," one source said, referring to a "Group of Two" format: Beijing wants the United States to treat it as an equal superpower, and Russia is not part of that circle.
Yun Sun, a China expert at the US-based Stimson Center, said that, to her knowledge, China had never considered such a summit. In her view, it is Russia, rather than China, that wants one.
Background
- Earlier reports suggested that the leaders of China, Russia and the United States could meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit in mid-November. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had previously proposed holding such a meeting to discuss nuclear disarmament.
- Meanwhile, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, Putin is seeking a summit with the US and Chinese leaders to agree on ending the war he launched against Ukraine on Moscow’s terms.
