Beijing on Monday praised ongoing talks aimed at finding a formula for peace in Ukraine, after a Chinese envoy attended a weekend summit in Saudi Arabia that was slammed by Russia as “doomed to fail.”
China said the two-day meeting in Jeddah helped “to consolidate international consensus” on finding a peaceful solution to the conflict, Reuters reported, citing a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
The talks brought together more than 40 nations, including Ukraine, the United States, European states, and the BRICS group of countries — perhaps none as closely watched as China, Russia’s most powerful ally. Kremlin officials said Russia had not been invited to the talks but was monitoring them, state media reported.
While the summit yielded little more than a pledge to hold more discussions in the future, Ukraine hailed China’s attendance as a diplomatic victory. Beijing had steered clear of a previous round of talks in Denmark in June, but has deepened ties with Saudi Arabia in recent years.
China was given a prominent seat at the table in Jeddah. In photos published by Saudi Arabia’s state news agency, Saudi national security adviser Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiba was sat between his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, and Chinese Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui.
Li “had extensive contact and communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis … listened to all sides’ opinions and proposals, and further consolidated international consensus,” China’s foreign ministry told Reuters in a written statement.
“All parties positively commented on Li Hui’s attendance, and fully backed China’s positive role in facilitating peace talks,” the statement said, adding that Beijing would continue to work to strengthen dialog based on its 12-point proposal for Ukraine. CNN has reached out to the ministry for comment.
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