Ukraine’s Top Diplomat Signals Willingness to Talk With Russia During First China Visit Since Start of War

Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba attends the 2024 Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 17, 2024. Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told his Chinese counterpart on July 24 that Kyiv would be ready to restart negotiations with Moscow if the Russian side showed a genuine willingness to negotiate in good faith.

Mr. Kuleba delivered this message during a meeting with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Guangzhou, a major industrial and export hub in southern China. It’s the first visit by Ukraine’s top diplomat to China since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

During the meeting on July 24, Mr. Kuleba reiterated Ukraine’s “established position that it is ready to engage the Russian side in the negotiation process at a certain stage, when Russia is ready to negotiate in good faith, but no such readiness is currently observed on the Russian side” according to a summary of the meeting released by his ministry.

According to the readout from Beijing’s foreign ministry, Mr. Wang said the regime has been “firmly committed to promoting political settlements to the crisis” while touting Beijing’s willingness to play a “constructive role” in resuming peace talks.

The CCP has been keen to position itself as a peace broker throughout the war, which started in February 2022, just weeks after Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “no limits” partnership. Beijing has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion nor call it an invasion.

Ukraine’s Rebuke of China

Mr. Kuleba arrived in China on July 23 and is scheduled to stay four days. Before heading to Guangzhou, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said his meetings in China will focus on exploring “ways to stop Russian aggression” and “the possible role of China in achieving a sustainable and just peace.”

The trip came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the Chinese regime and accused it of aiding Russia in undermining his peace conference in Switzerland last month.

“Russia, using Chinese influence on the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit,” Mr. Zelenskyy said at a press conference on July 2 after delivering remarks at the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore.

The Ukrainian president specifically criticized the CCP for failing to deliver its promise of not assisting Russia’s war efforts.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Xi promised him that Beijing would “stand aside and would not support Russia with weapons” during a phone call in January 2023.

However, Beijing appears to do otherwise.

“There are various signals from various intelligence [agencies], including [the] Ukrainian one, that somehow, some way, some things come to Russia’s markets via China. ... There are certain elements of Russia’s weaponry that come from China,” Mr. Zelenskyy told reporters.

Western officials have said that Chinese companies and traders are selling machine tools, chips, and other materials that have both civilian and military uses to help rebuild Moscow’s defense sector.

Rescuers put out a fire in a private house destroyed during a missile attack in Kostyatynivka town, Donetsk region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on July 21, 2024. Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

“Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at an April briefing in Beijing following a meeting with Xi and senior CCP officials. “I made clear that if China does not address this problem, we will.”

Earlier this month, NATO allies labeled communist China as a “decisive enabler” of the Ukraine war, stating that the regime “cannot enable the largest war in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation.”

Peace Proposal

Kyiv is now eyeing a second international peace summit in November, which Mr. Zelenskyy said he aimed to have “representatives of Russia“ participate in.

Moscow was not invited to the first summit in Switzerland, which was held from July 15 to July 16 and attended by delegations from more than 90 countries. Beijing declined to send its envoy, saying the Kyiv-backed meeting fell “far short of its expectations.”

On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, China released a “12-point” plan to end the conflicts. The paper calls for peace talks and respect for all countries’ sovereignty but stops short of demanding Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine or condemning the invasion. Mr. Putin hailed the plan, while Western countries largely shrugged it off as a ploy to buy more time for Russia’s military actions.

More recently, China published a six-point “common understanding” with Brazil, calling for a global summit recognized by both Russia and Ukraine to discuss a path to resolving the war.

Meanwhile, Ukraine officials are seeking support for their proposal to resolve the war.

Ahead of the trip, Mr. Kuleba told Chinese people in a video released on Weibo, a popular social media platform in China, that Ukraine is working with the international community to achieve peace based on a peaceful plan presented by Ukraine.

“We never want this war in Ukraine, and we'd like to end it as soon as possible. But we need a real and just peace that would allow us to restore stable development, prosperity, and security for our own people,” Mr. Kuleba said.