Kremlin spokesman terms Xi-Zelensky call as ‘sovereign matter’ for China, Ukraine

“We are ready to welcome anything that could help bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine closer and, actually, also help Russia achieve all of its goals. We are ready to welcome that. As for the fact of their communication, it is a sovereign matter for each of the two counties that pertains exclusively to their bilateral dialogue,” the Kremlin spokesman told reporters on Thursday.

When speaking about the peace plans that Xi and Zelensky discussed, Peskov pointed out that those initiatives had long been published and were available to the general public. “[We] are aware [of these plans]. It [information on the plans] is not classified, and in fact, both Zelensky and our Chinese partners have made it public. It was presented and the key aspects of these plans were made public, so it’s widely available to the general public,” the Russian presidential spokesman explained.

When asked if the Chinese president had discussed an initiative calling for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its 1991 borders with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow in March, Peskov answered in the negative. “It wasn’t mentioned,” he said.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, Putin has no plans for any communications with Xi in the near future.

On Wednesday, Xi held his first telephone conversation with Zelensky since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. The Chinese leader reiterated Beijing’s willingness to help establish a negotiation process to end the conflict. Xi also announced plans to send the Chinese government’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs “to Ukraine and other countries” to “thoroughly discuss a political settlement to the Ukrainian crisis with all of the interested parties.” According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, former Ambassador to Russia Li Hui will lead the country’s delegation, but no timeframe for his possible trip has been determined yet.