Ukraine, China asks for a truce, Kiev says no: “We will not cede any territory”
Li Hui, the Chinese special representative for the Ukraine crisis, calls for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. The Chinese envoy would have said so during his trip to Europe, having reached the last stage of his long diplomatic tour, in Moscow, where a meeting is underway with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.
According to statements by unnamed European officials cited by the Wall Street Journal, Li Hui “called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine with Russia retaining its new regions”. Li had been to Ukraine, Poland, France and Germany before arriving in Russia, and was appointed special representative for Eurasian affairs by Chinese President Xi Jinping after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month , the first between the two leaders since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The freezing of the conflict proposed by China would have the consequence that the occupied territories would remain with Russia pending a political solution. Hypothesis immediately removed from Ukraine. “Any ‘compromise scenario’ providing for NOT the liberation of all territories of Ukraine, which ‘anonymous sources’ in the European and American elites periodically talk about, is tantamount to admitting the defeat of democracy, the victory of Russia, the preservation of Putin’s regime and consequently the sharp increase in conflicts in global politics,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
Concepts reaffirmed in an interview published today by Corriere della Sera. “Our “peace formula” envisages as a first step the complete removal of Russian armed groups from the territory of Ukraine within the 1991 borders. It goes without saying that we will not support any option involving territorial concessions. The so-called “compromise” scenarios they would lead not to peace but to a continuation of the war and a significant increase in terrorist pressure on Ukraine. But not only. We would see further militarization of Russia and new attacks on other states.”
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