Kremlin, on China Plan, Says No Conditions for Peace ‘At the Moment’ in Ukraine

Authored by themoscowtimes.com and submitted by Tiny_Package4931

The Kremlin on Monday acknowledged China's proposal for a political solution in Ukraine but said the conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict were not in place "at the moment."

"We paid a lot of attention to our Chinese friends' plan," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, adding that: "for now, we don't see any of the conditions that are needed to bring this whole story towards peace."

China has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the conflict while maintaining close ties with strategic ally Russia.

Beijing last week called for peace talks as it released a 12-point paper to end the war in Ukraine, which included respect of all countries' territorial sovereignty.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday thanked Chinese efforts but said that any settlement of the conflict needed to recognize Russia's control over four Ukrainian regions.

Russia claims to have annexed the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson but never fully controlled them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needed to work with China, arguing "it seems to me that there is respect for our territorial integrity, security issues" from the Chinese perspective.

Zelensky also said he was convinced that only a country whose territory is under attack can initiate "any peace initiatives."

The publication of the proposal follows accusations from the West that China is considering arming Russia, a claim Beijing has dismissed as false.

Nothingtoseeheremmk on February 28th, 2023 at 18:52 UTC »

Hard to say whether this indicates China and Russia are actually at an impasse or if China is doing this ensure they have a position at the table.

i_ate_god on February 28th, 2023 at 18:16 UTC »

Anyone have any recommended reading on the Russo-Sino relationship? Something written in the past year or so? I feel that their relationship is far more complex and interesting than what I'm aware of.

Tiny_Package4931 on February 28th, 2023 at 17:48 UTC »

Submission Statement:

With the rejection of the Chinese framework for negotiating further peace Russia signals that it does not believe conditions on the ground merit a peace negotiation. From a broader geopolitical perspective, one of the core bullet points of the Chinese proposal was the respect for territorial sovereignty. Broadly the proposal by China is also linked to their approach they see in their position on Taiwan. By rejecting the peace plan, Russia complicates their relationship with China. It signals that the geopolitical goals of securing the Donbass and Crimea are not achieved and hints that Russia is still oriented towards their maximal goals for Ukraine, which includes annexation of much of current Eastern Ukraine and diplomatic and political concessions from any remaining Ukrainian government post war.