China has indicated that it is willing and able to participate in further international discussions on the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. This was confirmed by European officials, who praised its “constructive participation” in a Saudi Arabian conference which excluded Moscow.
The weekend discussions, in Jeddah which were attended by more than a dozen countries, and which focused on the 10-point Kyiv peace plan, ended on Sunday, without any concrete developments. The presence of Beijing at the weekend talks, after it had refused to attend similar discussions in Copenhagen weeks before, was seen by participants as a major coup for Kyiv.
China announced a partnership “with no limits” with Russia before Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 of its neighbor, which Beijing did not condemn. Its release of a Peace Plan earlier this year coincided with the Kremlin talking points.
A European diplomat stated that China “appeared positive” and “keen that was not Russia”. According to the person, “China’s mere presence shows Russia becoming more isolated”.
China has also confirmed that it will attend the next meeting.
A second European official stated that China “participated active and was positive regarding the idea of a three-meeting at this level”.
In March, President Xi Jinping made his first official trip since the lifting of China’s anti-Covid three-year regime. Beijing is still unsure of the future of the relations between China and Russia. Last month, it was reported that Xi warned Putin not to use nuclear weapons.
Beijing has not commented on the meeting since Sunday evening.
The forum was attended by dozens of countries, including Brazil and Turkey, South Africa, the US and the EU.
Western countries, including Ukraine, hoped that the meeting would help to isolate Russia and gain support for Ukraine from developing countrys who had not yet declared a position about the invasion. Some see the conflict as a battle between a US led Nato and Moscow.
Saudi Arabia, the host country, has close ties to China, which is its principal trading partner. It has also sought to increase its diplomatic presence in other countries.
A second European diplomat stated that there was “widespread, general support” among all delegates for the idea that “respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine must be at heart of any settlement of peace”.
Participants agreed to create working groups around the 10 points of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan. These include food security worldwide, nuclear security, environmental safety, humanitarian aid, and prisoner releases.
Ukraine hopes for an international summit on peace that will adopt its plan. On Saturday, a European official stated that the date of a summit attended by leaders of state was not yet decided but it could happen by the end the year.
Zelenskyy, in an address delivered on Saturday night, referred to the Jeddah Conference, saying that “different continents and political approaches to global issues are united, but everyone shares the priority of international legality”.
Andriy Yeermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s office, stated on Sunday that the talks were positive. He said that the talks were productive.
All the participants showed their commitment to the principles and international law of the UN Charter and the respect for sovereignty and the inviolability territorial integrity of States.
Dmitry Medvedev said that any proposal would only work if Moscow was included in the talks.
In a Telegram post, he claimed that the occupied Ukrainian territory belonged to Russia.
Officials in Crimea who were installed by the Russians, and which Russia annexed back in 2014, claimed that Ukraine’s military had launched a missile attack on the Chongar Bridge, which connects Crimea to the Kherson region of Ukraine, as well as another crossing nearby, on Sunday, damaging the road.
Ukraine reported that its air defences intercepted 57 out of 70 missiles or drones fired by Russia overnight in the country.