Come to Ukraine – POLITICO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to Ukraine on Wednesday, in what would be the first direct communication between the two leaders since the start of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine.

“We are ready to see (Xi) here,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with the Associated Press, an American newswire, on a train to Kyiv, adding, “I want to talk to him.”

“I had contact with him before the large-scale war. But for this whole year, more than a year, I haven’t had (contact),” Zelenskyy said.

Despite being a key Russian ally, Xi has sought to position Beijing as a peace broker between Moscow and Kyiv in recent months, drawing criticism from EU and NATO officials, who have issued doubts about China’s ability to act as a neutral intermediary.

Yet Zelenskyy has recently signaled his openness to Chinese-led peace talks, using Beijing’s 12-point peace plan as a basis.

“I think some of the Chinese proposals respect international law, and I think we can work on that with China,” the Ukrainian president said earlier this month.

Ahead of Xi’s visit to Moscow last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the trip would give the Ukrainian and Chinese presidents the chance to talk on the phone.

But the talks did not take place and the Xi-Putin summit ended with the two leaders endorsing a joint statement that appeared to support Russia’s narrative, making no offer to withdraw Russian forces. Ukraine while blaming NATO expansion for starting the war.