• China’s “peace plan” must be based on the full departure of Russian military.
• From Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.
• And Ukraine is ready to engage in a closer dialogue with China to restore peace.

Ukraine has reaffirmed that any future peace agreement must be based on the full departure of Russian military from all of its territory as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow.

On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war, China last month presented a 12-point position paper detailing a “political settlement of the Ukraine problem” in which it urged all parties to agree to a suspension of hostilities.

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, stated on Monday that Moscow must return Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity” in order for China’s “peace plan” to be successfully implemented.

“The first and foremost point is the surrender or withdrawal of Russian occupation forces from the territory of Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter,” Danilov said on Twitter.

Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, told Media that “Ukraine is following closely the Chinese President’s visit to Russia. We expect Beijing to use its influence on Moscow to make it put an end to the aggressive war against Ukraine.”

Nikolenko added: “As Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stressed in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart last week, restoring territorial integrity of Ukraine should be at the core of every diplomatic effort. We stand ready to engage in a closer dialogue with China in order to restore peace in Ukraine in accordance with the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, and the latest UNGA resolution on this matter.”

More information regarding China’s “peace plan”: China’s Foreign Ministry outlined a 12-point plan in which it urged the restart of peace negotiations, an end to unilateral sanctions, and emphasized its opposition to the use of nuclear weapons—a position Xi conveyed to Western leaders last year.

In an effort to reconcile its “no limits” relationship with Moscow and its deteriorating relations with the West as the war drags on, Beijing has recently made an effort to position itself as an impartial peace mediator.

Yet, Beijing’s assertion of neutrality has been seriously weakened by its failure to recognize the nature of the conflict — it has thus far refrained from using the word “invasion” — and its diplomatic and financial backing for Moscow.

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