Ukraine’s foreign minister Kuleba to discuss Russia invasion during China visit

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit China Tuesday for talks on ending Russia’s invasion, now in its third year, his ministry announced.

China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion and last year released a paper calling for a “political settlement” to the conflict, which Western countries said could enable Russia to retain much of the territory it has seized in Ukraine.

“The main topic of discussion will be the search for ways to stop Russian aggression and China’s possible role in achieving a sustainable and just peace,” the foreign ministry in Kyiv said in a statement on Monday, announcing the visit.

Beijing confirmed the talks with Kuleba, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying the visit had been initiated by China’s foreign minister.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month hosted a peace summit in Switzerland to set out his vision for a lasting peace. Russia was not invited.

Beijing, a close political and economic ally of Russia, did not attend the summit in protest at Moscow not being invited.