China’s 12-point Ukraine peace plan may not be "entirely pro-Moscow," but is still "not sufficient" to resolve the conflict, European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell has said.
Speaking to reporters, Borrell accused China and India of "taking advantage of the situation" in Ukraine, saying Beijing’s purchase of discounted Russian oil constitutes “economic support” for Moscow. “It’s a good business for them. You cannot expect China to stop buying Russian oil.”
Borrell did not elaborate on what exactly China’s peace plan lacks. The proposal, unveiled last month, calls for an immediate ceasefire, respect for the legitimate security interests of all countries, an end to sanctions and the resolution of the humanitarian crisis in the conflict zone.
At his meeting with President Xi Jinping last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are in agreement with with Russian approaches for a peaceful settlement,” but added that presently, Moscow has not seen “readiness” from the West and their Ukrainian client state to accept its provisions.
President Biden dismissed the peace plan outright last month, saying it was “not rational” because Putin has praised it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the proposal would be meaningless if Beijing did not demonstrate that it was “on the side of a fair peace, which means on our side.” A White House National Security Council spokesman said Washington would consider any ceasefire stemming from Xi’s visit to Russia “unacceptable, because all that’s gonna do is ratify Russia’s conquests to date.”
Commenting on the three day state visit, Borrell claimed that Xi made “very, very clear” to Putin that Russia must not use its nuclear weapons in Ukraine. China, he said, had also made clear its desire “to minimize the risk of being associated with the Russian military intervention,” is “not engaged militarily and there is no sign that they want to engage militarily.”
Borrell, who came out as an outspoken proponent of a military solution to the Ukrainian crisis last year, did not elaborate on what Xi may have told Putin regarding nuclear weapons use. Russia, unlike the EU’s US ally, has very strict safeguards in place which prohibit the use of such arms (even at the tactical level) unless Russia’s very existence is deemed to be under threat. Washington, for its part, not only lacks such constraints, but has supported the Kiev regime’s efforts to acquire a dirty bomb, sat idly by amid continued Ukrainian shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, and allowed its UK allies to send depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine.