Ukraine ready for talks with Russia – FM

Kiev is ready to hold peace talks with Moscow to end their long-running conflict, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning offered a glimpse into the agenda of Kuleba’s visit to China – the first since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022 – as well as his talks with Wang.

According to Mao, the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev were high on the agenda, with Kuleba making it clear that “Ukraine is ready and willing to engage in dialogue and negotiations with Russia.”

“Of course, the negotiations should be rational and substantive, aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace,” he added, as quoted by Mao.

Mao said Wang had warned that there was a “risk of escalation and spillover” of the conflict, adding that “China believes that the resolution of all conflicts must eventually return to the negotiation table.” He noted that “recently, both Ukraine and Russia have sent signals of willingness to negotiate to varying degrees.” 

Kuleba’s trip to China comes after Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky said earlier this week that he wanted to end the conflict “as soon as possible” and signaled readiness to engage with Russia. This comes in a sharp contrast to the existent presidential decree he signed in the autumn of 2022, which barred all talks with the current leadership in Moscow. Zelensky introduced the ban after four former Ukrainian regions voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.

Since then, Zelensky has been promoting his ‘peace formula’ demanding that Russia withdraw its troops from all territories claimed by Kiev as its own. The proposal was dismissed by Moscow as detached from reality.

In June, Ukraine attended the so-called ‘peace summit’ in Switzerland, which focused on several points of Zelensky’s formula. However, Moscow was not invited, and Beijing also shunned the event, arguing that Russia needed to be part of the process. Several participants also later withdrew their signatures from the final document.

Kuleba’s comments also come as Russian troops have been steadily pushing Ukrainian troops back in Donbass and elsewhere in recent months. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to immediately open peace talks with Ukraine once it withdraws troops from Donbass and its two other former regions, and commits to adopting a neutral status.

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