President Zelensky Doesn't Want China to Mediate, But Pressures Russia to End Conflict

President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Kyiv does not want China to act as a mediator in the 29-month-old Russia-Ukraine conflict, but hopes Beijing will put more pressure on Moscow to end the war.

Speaking to French media, President Zelensky said that although Ukraine insists on restoring the post-Soviet borders of 1991, Ukraine would consider opening talks with Russia before all Moscow troops are withdrawn if the conditions are right.

"If China wants, they can force Russia to stop this war. I don't want (China) to act as a mediator. I want China to put pressure on Russia to end this war," President Zelensky said, as reported by Reuters on August 1.

"Just like the United States is putting pressure, just like the European Union is putting pressure. The more influence a country has, the more pressure it puts on Russia," he continued.

China, which has a "limitless" partnership with Russia, has put forward its own peace plan to end the war based on non-escalation, direct negotiations and humanitarian aid.

Beijing did not take part in the first peace summit on Ukraine held last month in Switzerland. But it has stepped up diplomatic efforts and hosted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba last week.

President Zelensky reiterated his previous position that Russia should attend the next summit, which he hopes will be held later this year.

"Otherwise, we will not get a decent result," he said.

"All our requirements will be met. That does not mean that by then, we will restore our borders as they were in 1991," he said.

A just peace for Ukraine, he said, "involves the restoration of our territorial integrity, but it does not mean that this should be done only through arms."

Russian forces currently occupy less than 20 percent of Ukraine and have made gradual advances along the eastern part of a 1,000-km (600-mile) front since the capture of the city of Avdiivka in February.

In his comments, President Zelensky acknowledged the progress and said it was due to delays in equipping the brigades, Russia’s refusal to acknowledge its own losses, and restrictions by Kyiv’s Western partners on how their weapons can be used.

“It’s tough on the entire eastern front. They are concentrating all their efforts in the east,” he said, noting their movement westward toward the Ukrainian-held city of Sloviansk.

Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow was willing to negotiate to end the war, but that talks were contingent on Ukraine handing over four regions annexed by Russia in 2022.

President Zelensky said giving up the territories was not an option.

"It is impossible. It is against our constitution. And it is a problem that we have to solve ourselves," he said.