(Reuters) – China believes all stakeholders in the Russia-Ukraine conflict should participate in the peace talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday, underscoring Europe’s role in them after a flurry of U.S. messaging on how to end the war.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Wang said “we hope that all parties and stakeholders directly involved participate in the peace talks in due course”.
“China views all efforts dedicated to peace positively, including any consensus reached by the United States and Russia on peace talks,” China’s foreign ministry readout quoted Wang as saying.
“As the war is taking place on European soil, it is all the more necessary for Europe to play its part for peace, to jointly address the root causes of the crisis, to find a balanced, effective and sustainable security framework, and to achieve long-term peace and stability in Europe.”
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy by phone on Wednesday and tasked officials with kickstarting negotiations, adding that a summit with Putin in Saudi Arabia was likely.
He later said he did not think it was practical for Ukraine to join NATO and that it was unlikely Ukraine will get back all of its land.
The calls blindsided European allies who then warned the U.S. against sealing a deal on Ukraine behind their backs.
Pushing to ensure a seat at the negotiating table, Zelenskiy said on Thursday Ukraine would not accept any bilateral agreement on its fate reached by Moscow and Washington without involving Kyiv.
The same day, Trump said U.S. and Russian officials would meet in Munich on Friday and that Ukraine was also invited. Kyiv responded saying it did not expect to hold talks with Russia in the German city.
But Ukraine’s leader met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich conference, starting talks for a critical minerals deal.
China has long backed dialogue and negotiation as “the only viable solution” to the Ukraine crisis. Last May, China jointly announced with Brazil a six-point peace plan which called for any peace talks to include both warring states.
Zelenskiy dismissed the plan as an initiative serving Moscow’s interests.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that China had floated a proposal to hold a summit between Putin and Trump to help end the Ukraine war.
(Reporting by Liz Lee, Ethan Wang and Bu Shi; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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