President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Chinese leader Xi Jinping may meet as early as October. This was was reported by former Deputy Foreign Minister Oleksandr Chaly, reports Komersant ukrainskyi
.
The former official said that diplomacy with Beijing had improved, and a meeting between the two leaders was now possible. Noting China’s efforts to restore European security, Chaly said
“Now all of us in Ukraine are waiting for some contacts, direct contacts between President Zelenskyy and President Xi.”
It is worth noting that official Beijing positions itself as neutral on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but maintains close strategic ties with the Kremlin and did not join the peace summit organised by Ukraine in June.
Meanwhile, Cui Hongjian, director of the European Studies Department at the China Institute of International Studies, said on the sidelines of the forum that China is open to joining the upcoming Peace Summit because it does not want its efforts to “go in vain”.
“We are willing to do anything to promote peace,” Cui said when asked about the prospect of a meeting between Xi and Zelensky.