On April 26, President of Ukraine 

 had a telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

The conversation lasted almost an hour, its topic was the plan of the People's Republic of China to end the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine.

In Beijing, they say that the initiator was the Ukrainian side.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China emphasized that "China is consistent and clear in its readiness to develop bilateral relations with Ukraine."

Xi Jinping, in particular, said that he is on the side of peace in the issue of the "Ukrainian crisis".

Beijing's main position is to promote peace talks.

The People's Republic of China intends to send a special representative for Eurasian affairs to Ukraine and neighboring countries for "in-depth communication regarding the political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine."

Zelensky called the dialogue with the President of the People's Republic of China long and meaningful, however, he did not provide details of the conversation.

"I had a long meaningful telephone conversation with President Xi Jinping. I believe that it, as well as the appointment of the ambassador of Ukraine to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations," Zelenskyi said.

Xi Jinping supports dialogue with Zelenskyi and Putin

On March 25, Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that he had conveyed his desire to talk to Xi Jinping through diplomatic channels.

However, the President of Ukraine was skeptical about the PRC's 12-point proposal, saying that "respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity" should come first.

Zelenskyi also announced that he invited Xi Jinping to visit Ukraine. 

According to the Financial Times, the European Union insisted on a dialogue between Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky after the Chinese leader visited Moscow and met with

.

On March 20, Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow.

One of the key topics of the talks with Putin was the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine and the Chinese "peace plan".

During Xi Jinping's visit, Putin said that he had carefully read China's plan for the "Ukrainian settlement" and hinted at his readiness for negotiations.

Experts expressed fears that Xi and Putin will agree on the supply of Chinese weapons to Russia.

However, the head of Ukrainian intelligence,

, said that China has no intention of providing weapons to the aggressor country. 

In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expects that Xi Jinping will use his influence on Putin to end the war.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Nikolenko emphasized that Ukraine is ready for a closer dialogue with China with the aim of restoring peace.

Negotiations against the backdrop of a diplomatic scandal

The conversation between Zelenskyi and Xi Jinping took place against the background of a fresh diplomatic scandal.

On April 21, the Chinese ambassador to France,

was scandalized by a statement about the annexation of the occupied Crimea.

When asked whether Crimea is Ukrainian, the ambassador replied: "It depends on the perception of this problem. There is a history. Crimea was originally Russian. Khrushchev gave Crimea to Ukraine during the USSR."

The Chinese diplomat also stated that the former Soviet republics "do not have an effective status in international law." 

In response, European parliamentarians sent an open letter to the French Foreign Ministry with a request to declare Lu Shaye persona non grata.

As the authors of the document emphasized, it is not the business of China or any other country to question the sovereignty of others.

The head of the EU's foreign policy service, 

 called the statements of the Chinese ambassador regarding the dubious status of the former Soviet countries unacceptable.

The Chinese embassy in Paris was forced to apologize that Lu Shaye "expressed a personal point of view" that should not be exaggerated.

Beijing also assured that it "respects the sovereign state status" of the countries of the former USSR.

adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine

, expressed indignation at the words of the Chinese diplomat regarding the "absurd version of the history of Crimea."

"If you want to be a big political player, don't repeat the propaganda of Russian outsiders," Podolyak emphasized.

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• War in Ukraine

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