Ukraine's Top Diplomat in China To Seek End to Russia War

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday arrived in China on his first official visit to the country for talks on how to end the war with Russia, now in a bloody deadlock.

Kuleba, who was invited by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, will be in the country until Thursday for discussions to focus on a potential Chinese role in "achieving a sustainable and just peace," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement Monday.

Since the beginning of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion, now in its 29th month, China has not referred to it as a war and has echoed Russian talking points as well as censoring criticism of the conflict on its social media platforms.

China has also supported the sanction-strapped economy of its "no limits" partner through booming trade, though U.S. sanctions have recently complicated cross-border payments, and the world's largest economy has bought up Russian oil at a significant discount.

Asked about expectations for Kuleba's visit during the Chinese Foreign Ministry's regular news conference that day, spokesperson Mao Ning said she and Wang would discuss the "common understandings" of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and promote "China-Ukraine cooperation and issues of mutual concern."

She reiterated Beijing's stance that "an early ceasefire and political settlement is in the interest of all parties," adding that China supports an international consensus on ways to end the conflict.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

Nationalistic Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times touted Kuleba's visit as proof Ukraine rejects the notion that China is a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war, a label used by the U.S. and its NATO allies in a joint statement earlier this month. The NATO statement cited Chinese-made dual-use materials, weapons components, and drones deployed by Russian forces.

China has sought to portray itself as a neutral player and arbiter of peace talks, but Zelensky accused it of actively seeking to convince other countries not to attend peace talks in Switzerland that he had lobbied the international community to join.

"China, unfortunately, is working hard today to prevent countries from coming to the peace summit," he told reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual defense summit in Singapore.

China refused to send an envoy, citing Russia's lack of an invitation.

Last week in a special question-and-answer session with people on the forum social network platform Reddit, Kuleba stressed Ukraine is still pursuing the war strategy of "win and recover."

He said that with enough resources, Kyiv can still force Moscow to withdraw from its borders, claiming Russia has suffered 168,000 casualties since January 1 just to extend its control of Ukrainian soil from 17.61 percent on January 1 to 17.68 percent.

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