China, Ukraine foreign ministers talk peace in phone call

Wang and Kuleba spoke to each other for the first time in more than a month and discussed the situation in Ukraine at length

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba that Beijing believes establishing a balanced and sustainable security mechanism is key to Europe’s lasting security even as the latter urged Beijing to play its part in “stopping the war”.

A man carries a little girl as he arrives with other families to board a train at Kramatorsk central station as they flee the eastern city of Kramatorsk, in the Donbass region of Ukraine, on Monday. (AFP)

Speaking to Kuleba on phone, Wang, who is also state councillor, said, “China believes that a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism should be truly established through equal dialogue based on the principle of indivisibility of security.”

Wang and Kuleba spoke to each other for the first time in more than a month and discussed the situation in Ukraine at length.

China has refused to categorise Russia’s attack on Ukraine as an “invasion” and has instead blamed the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) for the ongoing war.

“On the Ukraine issue, China does not seek geopolitical self-interest, does not have the mentality of watching the fire from across the river, and will not do anything to pour oil on the fire,” Wang said, according to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry.

Wang said that China welcomes Russia-Ukraine peace talks and “no matter how difficult and divergent they are, we must stick to the general direction of peace talks until a ceasefire is negotiated and peace is achieved”.

The Chinese statement quoted Kuleba as saying that Kyiv values China’s international influence, is willing to maintain communication with China, and hopes that Beijing will continue to play an important role in the ceasefire and stopping the war.

Sharing information on the conversation on Twitter, Kuleba said, “We both share the conviction that ending the war against Ukraine serves common interests of peace, global food security, and international trade.”

According to the Chinese statement, Kuleba invoked the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, or Panchsheel, saying it a key positive force in maintaining peace.