Chinese foreign minister suggests speeding up preparations for real conference on Ukraine
Wang Yi also called on all parties concerned to engage in dialogue, efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, and to prevent the use of nuclear weapons and attacks on nuclear power plants
BEIJING, June 4. /TASS/. The international community could have a truly effective peace conference on Ukraine if they supported the joint Chinese and Brazilian proposal on settling the conflict, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
"The more countries support the six-point consensus [of China and Brazil], the closer we will be to the day when a real peace conference will be convened and a brighter prospect for peace," he emphasized in Beijing at a joint briefing with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
The Chinese diplomat noted that the world needs "more objective, balanced, positive and constructive opinions on the Ukrainian crisis." He specified that it was necessary to prevent the expansion of the conflict, escalation and avoid actions that could provoke a deterioration of the situation.
Wang Yi also called on all parties concerned to engage in dialogue, efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, and to prevent the use of nuclear weapons and attacks on nuclear power plants.
In May, Wang Yi's talks with the Brazilian president's special assistant for international affairs, Celso Amorim, resulted in the release of a joint statement. It said that dialogue and negotiation is the only way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. China and Brazil also proposed to hold an international peace conference "at an appropriate time" "with equal participation of all parties and discussion of all peace plans."
Switzerland’s peace conference
Switzerland plans to hold a conference on Ukraine in the Burgenstock area on June 15-16. The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said earlier that Bern had invited more than 160 delegations to the conference on Ukraine, including from G7, G20 and BRICS countries. According to Swiss officials, Russia has not been invited.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will not ask to participate in the conference if it is not wanted there. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, holding the conference in Switzerland is a "road to nowhere" and Moscow does not see that the West wants to enter into fair negotiations. At the same time, Russia has repeatedly stressed that Moscow has never refused to settle the conflict with Kiev through peace talks.