Zelensky invites Xi Jinping for a visit – AP – RT World News

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has reportedly lamented that he has not had direct talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since the start of Russia’s military offensive against Kiev last year, and he wants to rectify the situation.

“We are ready to see it here”, Zelensky said in an Associated Press interview published Wednesday. “I want to speak with him. I had contact with him before the total war, but during this whole year, more than a year, I had none.

Beijing unveiled its 12-point roadmap for ending the Russian-Ukrainian conflict last month, calling for a ceasefire and working towards a “Sustainable European Security Architecture” rather than imposing penalties and applying “maximum pressure” force a solution. China tried to play a “constructive role” in the crisis, resisting US pressure to condemn Russia and joining in the West’s anti-Russian sanctions. US officials dismissed the Chinese proposal as an offer that would only help Moscow.

Zelensky hosted a parade of Western politicians in Kyiv, including US President Joe Biden and three British prime ministers. He said last month he was open to China’s peace plan but would only accept a deal that would see Russia withdraw all its forces from Ukrainian territory.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters on Wednesday that she had no information on whether the Zelensky regime had indeed invited Xi to Kiev. She was also unable to say whether the Chinese president would accept such an offer.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a state visit by Xi earlier this month to Moscow. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin convened the summit last week “very disturbing.” Officials in Washington have hinted that China is considering sending weapons to Russia, saying such a move would have “consequences.”