China to send special envoy to Ukraine following first talks since war

China’s President Xi Jinping agreed Wednesday to send a special envoy to Ukraine to help broker peace in his first conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since the start of Russia’s invasion — but it’s unclear whether Beijing is actually distancing itself from Moscow in the conflict.

The hour-long phone conversation indicated significant headway since Xi told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow nearly two months ago that China wants to act as a peacemaker.

But it’s a mystery as to whether the call was a sign that Xi was moving further away from Moscow, which has a friendly relationship with Beijing, or wanted only to appear as doing so.

Zelensky expressed optimism following the latest talks, which he described as “long and meaningful” on social media.

“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 more in-depth statement, Zelensky noted that during the call, “particular attention was paid to the ways of possible cooperation to establish a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine.

“There can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises,” he said. “The territorial integrity of Ukraine must be restored within the 1991 borders.”

China has declared itself neutral in the conflict, despite the fact that it has not condemned Russia’s unprovoked invasion and has blocked efforts at the United Nations to condemn the war.

From Xi’s perspective, the call served as a way to reiterate that Bejing’s “core stance is to facilitate talks for peace,” according to a statement from the Chinese ministry.

An envoy — a former ambassador to Russia — will visit Ukraine to help reach a “political settlement,” the statement said.

China also said it will not provide its “dear friend” Putin with weaponry to aid in the war, which has been a major fear of both the US and Ukraine.

“Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the political foundation of China-Ukraine relations,” the ministry’s statement read. “China’s readiness to develop relations with Ukraine is consistent and clear-cut. No matter how the international situation evolves, China will work with Ukraine to advance mutually beneficial cooperation.”

In response to the conversation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova praised China’s endeavors to help negotiate peace while slamming Kyiv for rejecting “any sound initiatives aimed at a settlement.”

The White House said it did not receive advance notice about the call, but deemed Xi’s willingness to hear out Ukraine’s perspective of the “illegal, unprovoked invasion” a positive development in the ongoing conflict.

“We think that’s a good thing,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday.

Talks have been anticipated for weeks, ever since Xi presented Putin with a 12-point plan for peace during a meeting in Moscow. Russia had welcomed the plan, which called for a cease-fire, settling the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and a prisoner exchange — but fails to mention key details like Ukraine’s independence and Russia’s occupation of its territory.

At the time, Zelensky cautiously welcomed the plan, but said its success would hinge on actions more than empty promises.

With Post wires