China presents in Moscow its peace plan in Ukraine

On Wednesday, China presented in Moscow its vision for a political settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, while US President Joe Biden described Russia’s suspension of the New START treaty on nuclear arms control as a fatal mistake.

Kiev and its allies hope to mobilize the widest possible support for a resolution being considered by the United Nations General Assembly on the same day calling for a just and lasting peace a year after the start of the Russian invasion.

When asked by a reporter in Warsaw about Putin’s announcement Tuesday about New START, the US president replied, big mistake.

But Putin’s speech on Tuesday had a great impact, especially since he announced the suspension of Moscow’s participation in the latest arms control treaty between the two largest nuclear states in the world, Russia and the United States, and threatened to conduct new nuclear tests if Washington did so first.

Biden was speaking before a meeting of nine Eastern and Central European leaders (Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) in Warsaw, in the presence of Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The latter considered on this occasion that it was necessary to maintain and intensify support for Ukraine and provide it with what it needs for victory.

In a joint statement, the nine countries stressed that they will continue to strengthen their deterrent and defensive position along the entire eastern side, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

On Wednesday, Putin considered in a brief speech during a major national festival in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, that Russia is currently fighting in Ukraine for its historical lands.

“Today, the military leadership told me that battles are taking place within our historical lands for the sake of our people,” Putin said on a stage in front of a crowd of tens of thousands of Russians.

Appearing for just a few minutes, the president paid tribute to the Russian servicemen deployed in Ukraine who are “fighting heroically, bravely and valiantly: we are proud of them”.

On Tuesday, Putin delivered a strongly worded speech in which he pledged to continue the attack on Ukraine systematically, stressing that the West wants to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia that is, to eliminate us completely, blaming Washington and its European allies for the responsibility for fueling the Ukrainian conflict and falling its victims.

On the same day, Biden responded in a speech in Warsaw that the West is not conspiring to attack Russia, as Putin said, and millions of Russian citizens only want to live in peace with their neighbors, not the enemy.

In Moscow, Putin received the Chinese chief foreign affairs official, Wang Yi, on Wednesday in the Kremlin, after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

And this after the United States and NATO expressed concern that the Chinese were preparing, which they denied, to supply Russia with weapons to continue its offensive in Ukraine.

On the Russian side, the Foreign Ministry said at the end of the talks on Wednesday evening that the Chinese partners informed us of their views on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, in addition to their approaches to its political settlement.

However, during those discussions, there was no talk about any specific peace plan, the Russian Foreign Ministry indicated.

China promised to publish its proposal for a political solution this week on the first anniversary of Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

A senior Ukrainian official said Wednesday that the Chinese government didn’t consult Kiev during the preparation of its proposed peace plan for Ukraine, which is supposed to be announced this week.

For his part, the senior Ukrainian official warned on Wednesday that any peace plan shouldn’t cross the red lines set by Kiev, including not giving up areas to Russia that occupies lands in the east and south of the country, especially Crimea.

As for Wang Yi, he expressed Beijing’s desire to strengthen the strategic partnership, and comprehensive cooperation with Moscow.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday that he was aware of the main elements of the Chinese peace plan, but would need to see the entire document before forming an opinion.

“I don’t know if there is such a thing in China, but in Europe we have the old saying – the devil is in the details,” Kuleba said during a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York marking the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.

He added that Ukraine has its own peace plan, which is supported by many countries.

“This will remain our top priority, but we are ready to talk to those who have ideas,” Kuleba said.