The President of France met with the leader of China. They discussed Russiaʼs war against Ukraine

The President of France Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beijing to visit the President of China Xi Jinping. The main topic for discussion was the Russian Federationʼs war against Ukraine.

AFP and Global Times write about it.

Macron stated that he is counting on his Chinese counterpart to "bring Russia to its senses" and "bring everyone to the negotiating table." According to him, China should play a leading role in restoring peace in Ukraine.

To this, Chinese leader Xi Jinping replied that he hoped for a political solution to the war, and called on Ukraine and Russia for bilateral negotiations. He also opposed the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

• On February 24, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China published a "peace plan" for the settlement of the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Beijing calls for negotiations. The plan consists of 12 principles, which, according to the authors, should contribute to the end of the Russian Federationʼs war against Ukraine. The word "war" is not used in the document — in the English version of the document, the authors use the words "conflict" and "Ukrainian crisis". The plan also includes a clause on respecting the sovereignty of "all countries" and ending "unilateral sanctions."
• The President Volodymyr Zelensky invited the Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Ukraine, but did not receive an offer from the Chinese side to meet. The Chinese ambassador to the European Union Fu Cun justified this by the fact that the Chinese leader is "very busy."