China has said it believes “all efforts” should be recognised in supporting peace measures around the Russia-Ukraine war, rejecting accusations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that it was trying with Russia to undermine this month’s planned peace summit in Switzerland.
China has never “fanned fire or fuelled the flames”, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday after she was asked about the peace summit that is scheduled to take place on June 15-16.
Mao said China’s position on the peace conference was “open and transparent”.
More than 80 delegations have confirmed they will attend the summit in Burgenstock that Switzerland hopes will lay the groundwork for a peace process more than four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking in Singapore on Sunday, Zelenskyy said China and Russia were putting pressure on other countries and their leaders not to attend the upcoming talks. He did not say which ones.
“Russia, using Chinese influence in the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit,” he said at a news conference at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a closely-watched security forum.
China maintains it is neutral in the war, although it has deepened ties with Moscow since the invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing last month where he enjoyed a ceremonial welcome and sipped tea with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Its trade with Russia has grown, easing the economic impact of Western-led sanctions. US, Ukrainian and other intelligence agencies say there is evidence that Chinese parts are winding up in Russian weaponry, even if China is not directly arming its neighbour.
The Swiss had been hoping China would attend the peace conference, but Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made clear last week that Beijing would not participate.
Credit: aljazeera.com
