Ukraine in diplomatic row with China as Beijing refuses to attend Swiss peace summit
- 3 June, 07:21
Kyiv and Beijing are in a diplomatic row after China’s refusal to attend the upcoming global peace summit that has been initiated by Ukraine and will be held in Switzerland.
On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Mao Ning rejected claims that China “fanned fire or fuelled the flames” of the Russia-Ukraine war. China attaches great importance to its relations with Ukraine and remains its largest trading partner, Mao said, adding that China's position on the peace conference is very "open and transparent".
The statement from Beijing follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s remarks that China was attempting to undermine the peace summit along with Russia.
Speaking at an Asian security forum on Sunday, Zelenskiy said: “Regrettably, Russia, using Chinese influence on the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit. It is unfortunate that such a big, independent, powerful country as China is an instrument in the hands of Putin.”
Addressing the conference, the Shangri-La Dialogue, Zelenskiy attempted to rally support among Asia-Pacific nations for the summit to be held in mid-June. “The world has to be resilient, it needs to be strong, it has to pressure Russia. There is no other way to stop Putin – only diplomatic isolation, a strong Ukrainian military and for all the countries of the world to not balance between Ukraine and Russia but to defend international justice and law,” Zelenskiy said.
He later told the media that China had supported such efforts to deter leaders from participating. “Regrettably, Russia, using Chinese influence on the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit. It is unfortunate that such a big, independent, powerful country as China is an instrument in the hands of Putin,” he said.
