The Biden administration expects China to put on the table on Friday, one year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the “peace plan” he referred to, US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said on Thursday, according to CNN. “But the fundamental question is, does Putin want peace?” the American official said.

• “We are waiting for what the Chinese will put on the table. It should be announced tomorrow,” Victoria Nuland told the Washington Post, according to CNN.

Nuland did not elaborate on how China might present its “peace plan,” but there is a UN Security Council meeting on Friday, which will also be attended by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Beijing could make the announcement.

The US official said it was important that any agreement to end the war “brings a just and lasting peace”.

• “This cannot be just a cynical ceasefire that gives the Russians time to go home, rest and come back.
• But if Xi Jinping can get Putin and his army out of Ukraine, I think we’ll all be happy,” Nuland said.
• “But the fundamental question is: does Putin want peace?” – added the American official.

Privileged connection between Moscow and Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi at the Kremlin on Wednesday to discuss China’s proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, the public details of which are still sketchy and which Western diplomats say has been met with backlash. to AFP and EFE.

Wednesday’s meeting shows the close ties between Moscow and Beijing, as the Kremlin leader rarely hosts foreign officials who are not heads of state.

• “Today’s international relations are complicated (…) In this context, cooperation (…) between China and Russia is of great importance for stabilizing the international situation,” Putin said while receiving Wang Yi.

The Chinese official, in turn, expressed Beijing’s desire to “consolidate strategic partnership (…) and cooperation in all spheres” with Moscow.

• “We support a multipolar world and the democratization of international relations,” Wang Yi added, veiled criticism of US policy.

In the near future, the official visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China to Moscow

He conveyed to Putin a “warm greeting” from the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, who will pay an official visit to Moscow in the coming months.

The Russian president very rarely receives foreign officials who are not heads of state, so his meeting with Wang Yi illustrates the privileged ties between Moscow and Beijing.

A Chinese official arrived in Moscow on Tuesday on a European tour, where he met at the Munich Security Conference and with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, to whom he presented what the latter said were “key elements of China’s peace plan” to end Russia’s war against of Ukraine a year ago.

Ukraine wants to study China’s plan “in detail”.

• “We are waiting to receive this text in order to study it in detail, because we cannot draw conclusions only after the oral presentation. When we receive the document, we will study it in detail and draw conclusions,” Kuleba said on Tuesday.

Later, the minister assured the UN that Kyiv’s ten-point peace proposal remains the “number one priority” for Ukraine. “We are willing to talk to those who have ideas, other ideas that can help us achieve this goal,” he said.

For his part, a senior Ukrainian official warned on Wednesday that no peace plan should cross “red lines” set by Kyiv, including territorial concessions made to Russia, which has occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine, especially the Crimean peninsula.

• “The red lines for Ukraine are the principles of the UN Charter, including respect for Ukrainian territorial integrity,” said the Ukrainian government official.
• There will be no negotiations on Ukrainian territory, the president (Zelensky) has already announced this, he warned.

What will Beijing’s proposed peace plan contain

The details of the draft Chinese peace plan are still unknown, but, according to some media, it will include the principles of protecting territorial integrity, ending hostilities, protecting Ukrainian nuclear power plants, and excluding the possible use of chemical weapons.

But, according to the same sources, the first reaction of some Western diplomats to Beijing’s proposal was negative due to the fact that the Chinese plan did not provide for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, a prerequisite for which was set by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr. Zelensky will agree to peace talks. peace with Russia.

China, a close ally of Russia, has never publicly supported or criticized the invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly expressing its support for Moscow in the face of Western sanctions.

However, Beijing has also repeatedly demanded compliance with the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and Russia has announced the annexation of five Ukrainian regions.