“The Fundamental Question: Does Putin Want Peace?” / About the “Peace Plan” implemented by the US, China

The Biden administration expects China to release its so-called “peace plan” on Friday, one year after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said Thursday. CNN. “But the fundamental question is, does Putin want peace?” said the US official.

• “We’re waiting to see what the Chinese put on the table. That will be announced tomorrow,” Victoria Nuland told the Washington Post, according to CNN.

Nuland did not elaborate on how China might present its “peace plan,” but there is a U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday at which U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Beijing could make the announcement.

The US official said it was important that any deal to end the war “bring about a just and lasting peace”.

• “It cannot simply be a cynical cease-fire that gives the Russians time to go home, rest and come back.
• But if Xi Jinping can get Putin and his army out of Ukraine, I think we’ll all be excited,” Nuland said.
• “But the fundamental question is: Does Putin want peace?” The US official added.

Privileged connections between Moscow and Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday to discuss China’s proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. For AFP and EFE.

Wednesday’s meeting pointed to privileged relations between Moscow and Beijing as the Kremlin leader rarely receives foreign officials who are not heads of state.

• “International relations have become complicated today (…) In this context, cooperation between China and Russia (…) is very important to stabilize the international situation,” Putin said when receiving Wang Yi.

The Chinese official expressed Beijing’s desire to “coordinate strategic partnership (…) and cooperation in all fields” with Moscow.

• “We support a multipolar world and the democratization of international relations,” added Wang Yi, an implicit critic of US policy.

Official visit of the Chinese President to Moscow soon

He conveyed to Putin the “warmest wishes” of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will pay an official visit to Moscow in the coming months.

The Russian president rarely receives foreign officials who are not heads of state, so his meeting with Wang Yi illustrates the privileged relationship between Moscow and Beijing.

The Chinese official arrived in Moscow on Tuesday on a European tour, where he met at the Munich Security Conference and met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who presented him with “key elements of the Chinese peace plan.” A year ago Russia launched a war against Ukraine.

Ukraine wants to study China’s plan “in detail”.

• “We are waiting to read this text in detail because we cannot take decisions only after the oral presentation. Once we get the document, we will study it in depth and take our own conclusions,” Kuleba said on Tuesday.

The minister later assured the UN that Kiev’s ten-point peace proposal was the “number one priority” for Ukraine. “We’re open to talking to people who have ideas, other ideas, that will help us achieve this goal,” he said.

For his part, a senior Ukrainian official warned on Wednesday that any peace plan should not cross “red lines” established by Kiev, including territorial concessions made to Russia in eastern and southern Ukraine, particularly its occupation of the Crimean peninsula.

• “For Ukraine, the red lines are the principles of the UN Charter, including respect for Ukrainian territorial integrity,” the Ukrainian official said.
• “There will be no negotiations on any Ukrainian territory, the president (Zelensky) has already said this,” he warned.

What would Beijing’s proposed peace plan entail?

The details of the draft Chinese peace plan are not yet known, but according to some media sources, it includes policies such as preserving territorial integrity, ending hostilities, protecting Ukrainian nuclear power plants and refraining from using chemical weapons.

But, according to the same sources, the first reactions of some Western diplomats to Beijing’s proposal were negative, as the Chinese plan does not include the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory, an essential condition set by Ukrainian President Volodymyr. Zelensky should accept peace talks. Peace with Russia.

China, Russia’s closest ally, has never publicly supported or criticized the invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly expressing its support for Moscow in the face of Western sanctions.

However, Beijing has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine respect its territorial integrity, while Russia claims to annex five Ukrainian regions.