French president Emmanuel Macron has urged his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to ‘bring Russia to its senses’ over the war in Ukraine.
The statement was released as Macron made a high-profile visit to Beijing to discuss ways forward for the conflict which has devastated the Eastern European country since February last year.
During the bilateral talks, he told Xi: ‘I know I can count on you to bring Russia to its senses and everyone to the negotiating table.’
And in a joint statement afterwards, the pair reaffirmed calls for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ‘as soon as possible’, AFP reported.
Xi also reportedly told Macron he would be prepared to ready to call Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky ‘when the time comes’.
Macron was joined on the trip by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, though she did not lend her voice to the call for dialogue.
Kyiv has previously said peace talks would only be possible when Russia stops attacking Ukrainian territory and withdraws its troops from the country’s soil.
Ukraine has also ruled out conceding any land as part of negotiations – including the Donbas and Crimea regions which have been annexed by Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in the past such talks would not be possible while Vladimir Putin remains Russian leader.
Xi, who had his own high-profile visit to meet with Putin in Moscow last month, said in his meeting today that all countries should respect nuclear non-proliferation – though he did not specifically reference Russia.
Following the China-Russia meeting, he proposed a 12-point plan for peace in Ukraine, which involved both sides agreeing to a gradual de-escalation leading to a comprehensive ceasefire.
But Nato raised concerns that the Kremlin may have requested arms as part of the discussions, a suggestion denied by Beijing.
Yesterday, the military alliance warned there would be ‘severe consequences’ if China supplies lethal aid to Russia, with general secretary Jens Stoltenberg saying it would amount to a ‘historic mistake’.
Macron was accompanied by more than 50 business leaders on his trip to China, including bosses of Airbus, EDF and Veolia.
Airbus announced earlier today that it would open a second final assembly line in China, doubling its production capacity in the country.
Xi said both Beijing and Paris were ‘staunch promoters of multipolarisation of the world’, referencing a desire to reduce US dominance in international economic and political affairs.
