MUNICH: China's top diplomat Wang Yi announced at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that Beijing will shortly table a peace initiative to end the almost year-old war in Ukraine.
"We will present something. And that is the Chinese position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis," Wang said through a translator. "We will stand firm on the side of peace and dialogue."
For a safer world, "the principles of the UN Charter are something we must uphold," he said, blaming the world's current conflicts on disregard for these principles.
Pressure or sanctions did not resolve problems between countries, Wang said, and called for peaceful conflict resolution through dialogue and consultations, however harsh the tensions: "Peace should be given a chance after all."
Wang gave no details about the peace proposal or timetable. He will travel directly to Moscow after the conference.
The Ukraine conflict, which began with a Russian invasion on February 24 last year, is a central topic at the global security event running from Friday to Sunday in the German city.
Wang's presence at the conference marks the first time a senior Chinese government official has attended the Munich meeting since the start of the pandemic.
He is the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party's commission on foreign policy, a post that ranks above foreign minister in China's power hierarchy.
China has not condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine. Beijing has instead portrayed the US and Nato as responsible for the war.
As Beijing and Moscow become increasingly isolated from the West, observers have been watching for clues as to the relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, especially in the wake of Moscow's military setbacks in Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has praised China's intention to present a peace initiative to end the war in Ukraine, but ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia.
A just peace presupposes "that the one who has violated territorial integrity, namely Russia, withdraws its troops from the occupied country," Baerbock said at the Munich Security Conference.
"World peace is based precisely on the fact that we all recognise the territorial integrity and sovereignty of every country," she added.
Germany's position is that without a complete withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine, there is no chance of an end to the almost year-long conflict. All demands to end the war by ceding territory to Russia were unacceptable, Baerbock said: "That would mean turning people into Russia's prey. We will not do that."
Echoing comments made at the conference by Nato Secretary GeneralJens Stoltenberg, the minister stressed that Putin should not be rewarded for his invasion of Ukraine in order to deter imitators.
Stoltenberg specifically named China, saying Beijing was closely watching the outcome of the Ukraine war as it evaluated its own plans in "its part of the world." Concerns are growing that a Russian win in Ukraine will embolden China to use military force in its longstanding territorial claim on Taiwan. - dpa
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