• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss Beijing’s recommendations.
• The Chinese authorities have not publicly responded to Mr. Zelenskyy’s request for a meeting with Mr. Xi.
• China was considering sending drones and artillery munitions to Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that he intends to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss Beijing’s recommendations for ending the conflict in Ukraine.

On the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, he said the suggestion showed China was engaging in the peace process.

“I really want to believe that China will not supply weapons to Russia,” he said.

Peace negotiations and respect for national sovereignty are part of China’s goal.

However, the 12-point document does not specifically say that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and it also condemns the usage of “unilateral sanctions”, in what is seen as a veiled criticism of Ukraine’s allies in the West.

So far, the Chinese authorities have not publicly responded to Mr. Zelenskyy’s request for a meeting with Mr. Xi Jinping.

Likewise, Russia has praised China’s peace proposals. “We share Beijing’s viewpoints,” Moscow’s foreign ministry stated in a statement.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Beijing was considering sending weapons and ammunition to Moscow, which Beijing categorically denied. On Friday, US news outlets reported that China was considering sending drones and artillery munitions to Moscow.

Asked about the Chinese plan, US President Joe Biden told on Friday: “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s cheering it, so how could it be any good?

“I’ve seen nothing in the plan that would indicate that there is something that would be beneficial to anyone other than Russia,” he added.

The Chinese recommendations come after the country’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, visited Moscow on Wednesday and spoke with President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

After the talks, Mr. Wang was quoted by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency as saying that Beijing was willing to “deepen political trust” and “strengthen strategic coordination” with Moscow.

Western officials reacted coolly to the latest ideas. Nato leader Jens Stoltenberg said Beijing “doesn’t have much credibility” since it had “not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine”.

On February 24, 2022, President Putin began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Russian troops made substantial advances in Ukraine’s north, east, and south during the first few days.

However, the onslaught on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was quickly rebuffed, and the Ukrainian military was later able to recapture major territories.

The struggle, Europe’s largest since World War II, has since devolved into a grueling war of attrition.

Mr. Zelensky also stated that triumph “will definitely await us” provided friends “follow their pledges and timelines” during a lengthy news conference in Kyiv on Friday.

Poland stated that it had already delivered four Leopard II tanks to Ukraine and was prepared to deliver more. Germany has pledged 14 Leopard tanks, with Spain and Canada also contributing.

The United States, by far the largest donor of military aid to Ukraine, has vowed to deploy 31 M1 Abrams tanks, while the United Kingdom will provide 14 Challenger 2 tanks.

The Ukrainian president went on to say that his country had failed to engage properly with countries in Africa and Latin America after numerous African and Latin American states abstained during a UN General Assembly voting on a resolution denouncing Russia’s invasion.

“We didn’t work well for many years, we didn’t pay attention, I think it’s a big mistake,” he said.

When asked to choose his worst event of the war thus far, Mr. Zelensky named Bucha, a village outside Kyiv where Russian troops are suspected of killing civilians in the early stages of the conflict. The small town had been under Russian control until last April, when Ukrainian troops pushed back to recover it.

“What I saw. It was horrible,” Mr. Zelenskyy said, visibly moved.

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