Ukrainian leaders have made no secret of their desire to meet with Chinese officials in Switzerland this week, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went home without the desired meeting. Beijing has betrayed Ukraine and continues to be on the side of Vladimir Putin, writes Politico on Wednesday, citing News.ro.

The members of the Chinese delegation in Switzerland had many opportunities to meet with their Ukrainian colleagues both in Bern and at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Any meeting would justify the long-standing hope in Kyiv to hold frank personal negotiations with high-ranking officials in Beijing. On the eve of the multinational peace summit in the Swiss Alps, the head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, stated the need for Beijing to join the peace talks and hinted that Zelenskyi will have the opportunity to speak with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, writes Politico.EU.

In the end, Ukraine made no progress in bringing China into the talks, and Zelenskyi and Li were unable to talk.

It is the latest sign that China has no intention of insisting on an end to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s all-out war against Ukraine. Instead, China sided with Russia, supplying it with military materials that supported Moscow’s war effort despite Western pressure and sanctions, Politico writes.

Conscious refusal

China’s decision not to meet with the Ukrainians appears to be deliberate, not the result of a scheduling problem.

A senior US official, cited by Politico on condition of anonymity, said Beijing rejected Kyiv’s request to hold a meeting at some point during their joint visits to Switzerland. Another senior US official said Beijing backed out of any meeting after Russia urged it to end diplomatic meetings with Ukraine.

A Ukrainian official denied this characterization, saying that the delegation did not have a meeting with Chinese officials on its schedule and that Kyiv had never asked about it. Chinese officials did not respond to a request for comment, the Brussels publication reported.

A senior European Union official said the bloc had urged China to resume direct contact with Zelenskyi, stressing that a meeting with Lee in Switzerland would be a positive step.

Both countries entered into some diplomatic relations after the great Russian invasion. Zelenskyi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on the phone in April last year, and the following month the Chinese emissary to Ukraine came to Kyiv. Since then, relations have become much less personal, although Ukraine remains hopeful that both sides can resume talks.

Zelensky was welcomed in Davos like a rock star

Zelenskyi and Li, a close confidante of President Xi Jinping, were in Davos to meet with foreign counterparts and address a high-profile audience at the forum. They sent very different messages: Lee presented China as a safe place to invest despite its economic woes, taking a few jabs at the United States along the way, while Zelensky attacked Putin and tried to drum up support for the Ukraine cause. “Whoever thinks that this is only about us, that this is only about Ukraine, is completely mistaken,” he said on the main stage of Davos on Tuesday.

Without a meeting with China on his schedule, Zelenskyy spent his time coordinating with key partners, namely US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The meetings came at a crucial time for Zelenskyi and his country, especially as fighting on the ground has all but ceased, with both sides mired in grueling artillery fire along a massive front line.

Despite the coldness of China, the Ukrainian leader was greeted by the participants of the forum with such enthusiasm as a rock star. A large crowd gathered near the meeting hall to see Zelensky heading to the next meeting. He ignored questions from the media, including questions about Ukraine’s relations with China, walking away as if he hadn’t heard anything, Politico notes.