OUR Ukrainian chairman Vladimir Zelensky invited him Chinese his colleague Xi Jinping visit her Ukrainereports the Associated Press.

“We are ready to welcome him here. I want to talk to him,” Zelensky said in an interview with the agency.

Xi has not negotiated with Zelensky since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but last month China unveiled a 12-point plan for a “political solution to the crisis.”

Xi discussed the war with his “dear friend,” as he called him, Vladimir Putin during an official visit to Moscow last week, although there appeared to be no progress in talks to end the war.

China’s plan and US skepticism

Beijing’s plan includes a call for de-escalation and, on a second level, for a ceasefire.

However, the United States is skeptical of the proposal, given that China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The US says a ceasefire at this stage will secure Russian territorial gains and give Putin’s army more time to regroup.

Ukraine, for its part, has welcomed China’s diplomatic involvement, but Zelenskiy said he would only consider a peaceful settlement if Russian troops withdraw their troops from Ukrainian territory.

^{Source: Reuters, Associated Press.}