Ukraine’s foreign minister met with China’s special envoy, reiterating the country’s refusal to accept any peace plan that involves giving up territory after Russia’s invasion. The meeting coincided with Turkey extending a UN-backed deal for grain shipments via the Black Sea, while China sought to promote negotiations and play a mediating role in resolving the conflict.
Ukraine’s foreign minister met China’s special envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday, insisting that the war-torn country would not accept a peace plan that relied on giving up territory after Russia’s invasion.
Their meeting came as Turkey’s president announced a two-month extension of a UN-backed deal to allow Ukraine grain shipments via the Black Sea, which are crucial for ensuring supplies on global grain markets.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked his “precious friend” President Vladimir Putin of Russia, his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for their roles in extending the agreement.
In the Ukrainian capital, China’s envoy Li Hui is seeking to promote Beijing-led negotiations to resolve the conflict.
China, a close ally of Moscow, has not publicly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, whose foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that peace depended on “respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”.
In his meeting with Li, Kuleba “emphasised that Ukraine does not accept any proposals that would involve the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict”, his ministry said.
He also underscored the importance of China’s mediating role, in particular with regards to nuclear safety and the resumption of grain exports through the Black Sea.
Marie de La Roche Saint-André, with AFP
