China denies pressure on other countries to avoid participating in the peace summit
China denied this Monday that it had “pressured” certain countries not to participate in the Peace Summit in Ukraine, contradicting comments made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend.
“Using the policy of force is not the style of Chinese diplomacy (…). China’s position is open and transparent and, in no case, do we exert pressure on other countries “, Mao Ning, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the press.
Speaking on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore on Sunday, President Zelensky accused China of working to prevent countries from participating in the Ukraine Peace Summit, scheduled for June in Switzerland.
Two days earlier, Beijing had said that it would be difficult to participate in this summit if Russia was not invited, a statement approved by Moscow.
“China sincerely hopes that this peace conference will not become a platform to create confrontation between camps,” Mao Ning said today.
“Failing to participate in the conference does not mean that we reject peace (…). And even if some countries decide to participate in the conference, this does not necessarily mean that they are waiting for a ceasefire and an end to the fighting. The most important thing is concrete action”, declared the Chinese spokesperson.
China claims to be neutral in this conflict, but has never condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and has received Russian President Vladimir Putin on its territory several times since the start of the war.
Beijing regularly calls for respect for the territorial integrity of all countries, which implicitly concerns Ukraine, but also calls for consideration of Russia’s security concerns.
“China has repeatedly stressed that the peace conference must be recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, that all parties must participate on an equal footing and that all peace plans must be the subject of fair discussion ” Mao Ning recalled.
“It is difficult for China to participate in this meeting precisely because we believe that these three points may not be achieved in this meeting.”
More than a hundred countries and organizations have committed to participating in the summit, according to Zelensky, who urged countries in the Asia-Pacific region to join.
