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Russian president Vladimir Putin has welcomed China’s peace plan for Ukraine, saying it could be used as a basis to end the war.
However, Putin said that this could only be taken forward “once the West and Kyiv are ready for it.”
“We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when they are ready for that in the West and in Kyiv. However, so far we see no such readiness from their side,” the Russian leader said, as per Reuters.
He made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Tuesday (21 March) in Moscow. Xi was in the Russian capital for a three-day state visit that concluded on Wednesday.
Addressing the conference, Xi reiterated Beijing’s position for peace and dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, adding that China was on the “right side of history”, reported BBC.
The Chinese leader also said Beijing has always had an “objective” and “impartial” view of the conflict.
What is China’s peace plan and will Ukraine accept it? Let’s understand.
China’s Peace Plan For Ukraine
Beijing came up with “China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis” last month.
This 12-point peace proposal issued by China’s foreign ministry on 24 February coincided with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The proposal calls for a ceasefire as well as “direct dialogue” and “relaxation of the situation”.
It endorses ceasing hostilities. The proposal says: “Conflict and war benefit no one. All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiraling out of control.”
It also calls for an end to Western sanctions against Russia. Without naming any nation, it says “relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions” and “do their share in de-escalating the Ukraine crisis.”
The plan also states that the sovereignty of all countries should be upheld.
Further, criticisng the “Cold War mentality,” an apparent attack on the United States and NATO, China’s plan says: “The security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs”.
The peace plan also calls for ensuring the export of grains after disruptions hiked global food prices last year, keeping industrial and supply chains stable, protecting civilians and prisoners of war, taking measures to keep nuclear facilities safe, and promoting post-conflict reconstruction in conflict zones.
Notably, the proposal does not explicitly call for Russia to leave Ukraine, reported BBC.
With this peace plan, Xi is seeking to play a mediator between Russia and Ukraine as he aims to solidify China’s position as a bigger player on the global stage.
Criticism Of China’s Peace Plan
Critics of the proposal say it incorporates only Russia’s viewpoints and does not include Ukraine’s position.
The United States has refused to accept China’s peace plan for Ukraine, saying it could be a “stalling tactic” to help Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
It also says that China’s peace proposal would “freeze” Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine, reported The Guardian.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Monday: “The world should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms.”
“Calling for a ceasefire that does not include the removal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory would effectively be supporting the ratification of Russian conquest,” he said, as per Voice of America (VOA).
An expert says that China’s peace plan is actually about Taiwan, in case Beijing tries to invade the island nation in the future.
In an article for Foreign Policy, Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former US diplomat, argued previously that China’s peace plan is not aimed towards “restoring peace in Europe” but has “everything to do with setting the conditions to win a future war over Taiwan”.
“Beijing’s proposal lays bare the rhetorical and legal scaffolding it intends to erect if and when Xi decides to forcefully retake Taiwan. If last August’s marathon of military manoeuvres around the island revealed the attack vectors China likely intends to prosecute during an all-out amphibious assault on Taiwan, the laundry list of conditions embodied in the peace plan reveals how China intends to complicate Western attempts to replicate the Ukraine playbook during a future contingency,” he wrote for Foreign Policy in early March.
How Has Ukraine Reacted To The Peace Plan?
Both Ukraine and Russia offered a lukewarm response to China’s peace plan last month.
Kyiv said it was open to “parts of the plan”.
Reacting to the proposal last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he “wanted to believe” China was interested in a “fair peace”, which meant not “supplying weapons to Russia”.
“I’m doing my best to prevent that from happening. This is priority number one,” he had said then.
Zelenskyy stressed that he would agree to a peace settlement with Moscow only if Russia pulls out its forces from all occupied Ukrainian territory – a suggestion missing from China’s 12-point proposal.
Moreover, Ukraine has its own 10-point peace formula that includes the withdrawal of Russian troops as well as reparations and prosecutions for Russia’s war leadership, as per The Guardian.
On Tuesday (21 March), Zelenskyy told reporters that he had asked China to participate in talks but was waiting for a response, reported BBC.
“We offered China to become a partner in the implementation of the peace formula,” he said. “We invite you to the dialogue; we are waiting for your answer.”
As per The Wall Street Journal report, Xi could talk on the phone to the Ukrainian president – for the first time since the war began – after his Moscow trip.
A 20 March report in Asia Times said that at a private gathering of former top US soldiers, intelligence officials and scholars, one of the speakers claimed Zelenskyy might consider China’s peace plan amid a shortage of trained personnel and ammunition.
Citing an expert, the Asia Times report said that Ukraine’s “unrecoverable” casualties – killed or seriously injured – (1,20,000) in the war so far are two-thirds of Russian troops (1,50,000-2,00,000).
The report further noted that although the US has dismissed the peace proposal, Ukraine has not.
However, the chances of Ukraine and Russia coming to the negotiation table remain slim. Kyiv remains firm on its demand for Russian troops to withdraw behind borders in place since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
This would mean Russian troops leaving Crimea which they had annexed in 2014 as well as giving up all the territorial gains they have made in Ukraine since the war began last February.
Russia has given no indication that it intends to meet these demands. First Post
