Recently, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the position of the Chinese government regarding Ukraine would be very important for the country’s relations with the EU. On the other hand, Xi Jinping is a person who can become a “bridge” to influence the Kremlin and convey general expectations to Putin. As part of the above, the Prime Minister of Spain, during the meeting with the President of China, called him to have a constructive dialogue with Zelenskyy.
Spain goes ahead
Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez held a press conference in Beijing after meeting with Xi Jinping and other high officials. At it, he announced that he called on the Chinese government to negotiate with Ukraine. The main topic should be the discussion of the peace formula proposed by the President of Ukraine last fall.
Pedro Sanchez noted that the mentioned formula is suitable due to the following points:
- it lays the base for long-term peace in Ukraine;
- it corresponds to the Charter of the United Nations.
The Prime Minister said that Spain supports this formula.
Why is it provocative?
Pedro Sanchez’s call can be considered a very decisive political step. In this way, Xi Jinping was informed that the peace plan put forward by the Chinese government a month ago is worse than the Ukrainian one. Firstly, it does not consider the option of restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which existed until 2014. Secondly, China’s peace plan is opposed to the one presented by Zelenskyy as not meeting the principles of the UN.
What did Xi Jinping answer?
At the press conference, the Spanish Prime Minister was asked about the response of the Chinese President to the call for negotiations with Zelenskyy regarding the peace formula. Pedro Sanchez refused to answer, from which we can conclude that the answer was not simple and more controversial than a direct “yes” or “no”.
In a broader sense, such a call from Spain can be considered a subtle hint that is conveyed to the Kremlin. It means that Europe does not see China as a definite partner of Russia and will try to persuade it to its side.
