Volodomyr Zelenskyy has accused China of discouraging other countries from attending the Ukraine peace summit.
The summit, aimed at bringing peace to war-ravaged Ukraine, is scheduled to take in Switzerland later this month.
Speaking at Asia’s biggest security conference, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, the Ukrainian President asserted that Russia was seeking to undermine the summit by warning countries not to attend and threatening a blockade of agricultural goods and food products.
He later told the media that China had supported such efforts to deter leaders from participating.
“Using Chinese influence, using Chinese diplomats, Russia is doing everything to disrupt the summit,” Zelenskyy stated.
“Regrettably, such a big, independent country as China has become an instrument in Putin’s hands,” he added.
Russia has not been invited to the conference in Switzerland and has denounced the event as an effort to isolate it.
Zelenskyy noted that since a phone call between him and Chinese President, Xi Jinping, one year ago, Ukraine had sought meetings with Chinese officials at all levels but this had not been granted.
He had not met Chinese officials despite their presence in Singapore.
Zelensky said that, though Xi had promised during their conversation not to sell weapons to Russia, Russia’s military has benefited from components that come from China.
“We have received signals from many intelligence services, including the Ukrainian one, that some things, somehow, end up in the Russian Federation market via China,” Zelensky said.
“Russian missiles and other weapons, however, also include parts from other countries, including those in the West,” he added.
The Ukrainian President cautioned that Chinese support for Russia would make the war longer and “that is bad for the entire world.”
“You cannot say that we accept sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and at the same time be on the side of the country that violates the principles of the UN charter and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Moreover, the Ukrainian President sought to rally support among Asia-Pacific nations, urging them to attend the Swiss meeting.
“The world has to be resilient, it needs to be strong, it has to pressure Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
“There is no other way to stop Putin – only diplomatic isolation, a strong Ukrainian military and for all the countries of the world to not balance between Ukraine and Russia but to defend international justice and law.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
He said that he was “disappointed” some world leaders had not yet confirmed attendance.
Representatives of more than 100 nations are expected to attend the peace summit in the city of Lucerne on June 15-16, 2024.
They include Heads of states and governments from most Western nations, though it isn’t clear whether President Biden—who will be in Italy for a meeting of Group of Seven leaders just before—will come.
Earlier on Sunday, the Chinese Defence Minister, Dong Jun, told attendees of the Shangri-La Dialogue that his country had “been promoting peace talks with a responsible attitude.”
He reiterated that Beijing does not provide weapons to either party of the war in Ukraine.
“We have put stricter control on the export of dual use items and have never done anything to fan the flames. We stand firmly on the side of peace and dialogue.”
Dong Jun
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Beijing wouldn’t participate in the Swiss gathering because any peace conference “should be endorsed by both Russia and Ukraine, with the equal participation of all countries.”
China’s participation in any successful peace talks is considered crucial, because Russia has grown increasingly dependent on its giant neighbor economically, politically and technologically—especially as U.S.-led sanctions imposed in 2022 cut it off from the global financial system.
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