War in Ukraine: Macron calls on China to “help put pressure on Russia”
[ad_1]
What role for China in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict? While Beijing published a 12-point document on Friday published a year to the day after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron called on China on Saturday to “help put pressure on Russia” in order to ” stop aggression” and “build peace”.
“The fact that China is engaging in peace efforts is quite good,” welcomed the French president the day after the publication of the document urging peace talks and a “political solution”.
Emmanuel Macron, who spoke on the sidelines of a visit to the Agricultural Show, explained that this peace was “possible only if it involves a halt to Russian aggression, a withdrawal of troops and a respect for territorial sovereignty and the Ukrainian people”.
The French president called on Beijing to “not deliver any weapons to Russia” and to “help us put pressure on Russia so that it obviously never uses either chemicals or nuclear weapons, and that it stops this aggression prior to negotiation. He also announced on Saturday that he would go to China “at the beginning of April”
Reactions to the Chinese document
The Chinese authorities have for their part announced a state visit from Tuesday to Thursday by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, and who had lent his territory for the launch of the Russian offensive.
A strategic partner of Moscow, China abstained on Thursday during the vote on a resolution by the UN General Assembly demanding an “immediate” withdrawal of Russian troops. On Saturday, it obstructed a joint communiqué from the G20 Finance meeting in India, due to differences over Ukraine, according to several officials familiar with the discussions.
Reacting to the Chinese document, Moscow said it “shared Beijing’s considerations” while insisting on the need to “recognize the new territorial realities”.
“I want to believe that China will be on the side of a just world, that is to say on our side,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He deemed Beijing’s involvement “positive” and said he planned a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
US President Joe Biden for his part estimated on Friday that the United States has “for the moment no proof” of arms deliveries by China to Russia, saying that he does not “anticipate any major initiative from China to supply arms to Russia”.
[ad_2]
Original Source Link
