Xi broached Chinese peace plan with Putin that advocates “respect for sovereignty”

Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the peace plan he has drawn up to end the war in Ukraine, which advocates the “resumption of negotiations” and “respect for sovereignty”.

The 12-point document, first presented on Feb. 24 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Russian-initiated conflict, outlines China’s position “for a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine”.

Xi Jinping discussed his plan with Vladimir Putin during his state visit to Russia.

Among the pillars of the Chinese initiative are respect for “the sovereignty of all countries” and “their territorial integrity” and the abandonment of the “cold war mentality” and respect for the “legitimate security concerns of countries”, something that Beijing has reiterated since the beginning of the invasion, in reference to Russia.

Beijing defends a ceasefire and an appeal for “restraint” to “prevent the crisis from getting worse or even getting out of control” and the resumption of peace talks, since “dialogue and negotiation are the only way out viable way to solve the crisis”.

China’s peace plan also aims to resolve the humanitarian crisis, “effectively protecting the safety of civilians” and “establishing humanitarian corridors for their evacuation from war zones” and supporting the “exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine” .

China also calls for the cessation of “attacks on civilian facilities”, the protection of the security of nuclear power plants and the cessation of “armed attacks against nuclear power plants” or the “reduction of strategic risk”, which includes an emphasis that “war nuclear power must not and cannot be fought”.

He also defends the guarantee of the export of cereals, in which the United Nations must “play an important role” and the cessation of “unilateral sanctions” for “they do not resolve the problems, and may even create new ones”, according to Beijing, which since the beginning of war spoke out against sanctions against Moscow.

Beijing also advocates protecting the stability of industrial and supply chains, which includes calling on all parties to “oppose” the politicization and instrumentalization of the world economy and supporting Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, something for which China is willing to “help”.

The military offensive launched on February 24, 2022 by Russia in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14.6 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced and more than 8.1 million to European countries -, according to with the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).

At the moment, at least 18 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian aid and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and shelter.