Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a suggestion by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine pledges its neutrality in exchange for unspecified security guarantees. Putin has agreed to send a delegation to Belarus to begin negotiations.
But the announcement didn’t halt the Russian military juggernaut from moving forward. As my PJ Media colleague Cameron Arcand reported this morning, Russian troops have entered the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and are moving through the city while artillery and rockets bombard the ancient capital.
“As you know, today the President of Ukraine Zelensky announced his readiness to discuss the neutral status of Ukraine,” the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said in remarks reported by Russian news agencies. “In this context, in response to Zelensky’s proposal, Vladimir Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to Minsk at the level of representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the presidential administration for negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation.”
The offer to talk from Putin came after he spoke with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. Xi is worried about Russia’s aggression blowing back on China, which already has enough of a PR problem with their oppression of the Uyghurs and crackdown on Hong Kong.
In a major diplomatic intervention, Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate with Ukraine — with Beijing offering no clear endorsement of the ongoing war.
“The situation in eastern Ukraine has undergone rapid changes, drawing great attention from the international community. China’s position would be based on the right and wrong in relation to the Ukraine issue itself,” Xi told Putin on Friday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
In further remarks that probably won’t go down well in the Kremlin, Xi said: “China supports Russia and Ukraine in resolving the issue through negotiation.”
So Putin is, at least, going to make a token effort to end the fighting, although you know his heart isn’t in it. Ukraine has tasked him and he wants to humiliate Zerensky and all those who thought they could seek shelter from Russia with NATO.
“China is consistent in the fundamental position on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and abiding by the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter,” Xi said.
Notably, Xi’s readout made no reference to previous attempts by China to blame NATO expansion or U.S. influence for problems in the region, though he said: “It is necessary to abandon the Cold War mentality, attach importance to and respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiations.”
“China is willing to work with all parties in the international community to advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept,” he added.
President Xi probably has no illusions about his partner Vladimir Putin. The Russian president will stop fighting in Ukraine only after he’s achieved every single military objective he entered the country to accomplish.