ByAFP

Published July 22, 2024

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba begins a trip to China on Tuesday – Copyright AFP Mandel NGAN

Ukraine’s foreign minister is in China Tuesday for talks on how officials there might help end the war with Russia, whose ties with Beijing have only grown stronger since the conflict began.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

However, its deepening “no limits” partnership with Russia has led NATO members to brand it a “decisive enabler” of Moscow’s war, which Beijing has never condemned.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s visit until Friday is his first since the outbreak of the war in February 2022.

Kyiv said Kuleba’s visit would focus on “ways to stop Russian aggression” as well as “China’s possible role in achieving a sustainable and just peace”.

China has sought to paint itself as a mediator in the war, sending envoy Li Hui to Europe on multiple rounds of “shuttle diplomacy”.

President Xi Jinping told Hungary’s Viktor Orban this month that world powers should help Russia and Ukraine restart direct negotiations. Orban’s visit to Beijing was branded as a “peace mission”.

China also released a paper last year calling for a “political settlement” to the conflict. However, it was criticised by Western countries for enabling Russia to retain much of the territory it has seized in Ukraine.

Beijing has rebuffed claims it is supporting Russia’s war effort, insisting last week that its position was “open and above board” and accusing the West of fuelling the conflict through arms shipments to Kyiv.

Beijing, a close political and economic ally of Russia, did not attend a peace summit in Switzerland last month, protesting Moscow’s not being invited.

– ‘Extract a price’ –

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called during that summit for Beijing to engage seriously with developing peace proposals.

Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told AFP that Kyiv could likely seek this week to “convince China that it should participate in a second peace summit”.

“Beijing can try to extract a price, even for sending somebody like Special Envoy ambassador Li Hui,” he said.

China has offered a critical lifeline to Russia’s isolated economy since the conflict began.

That economic partnership has come under close scrutiny from the West in recent months, with Washington vowing to go after financial institutions that facilitate Moscow’s war effort.

The United States and Europe have also accused Beijing of selling components and equipment necessary to keep Moscow’s military production afloat.

Gabuev suggested that Beijing may this week “try to leverage this Ukrainian interest in a second piece summit… in order to get itself off the hook for deepening sanctions”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba begins a trip to China on Tuesday – Copyright AFP Mandel NGAN