It has an illusory mission to keep the peace while rivals are still searching for a solution on the battlefield. Li HuiChina’s special representative for Eurasian affairs embarked on a journey with all parties to find a political solution to the war. It starts on Tuesday Ukraine and will continue without knowing the order Russia, Poland, France And Germany.
The mediation was announced in April after the presidents of China and Ukraine Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelenski had their first phone call since the start of the war. Xi explained China “for peace”“and” far from taking advantage of war, “it will never sit idle or throw fuel on a fire.” He appointed Li as the man to solve this mess. Last Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the trip will begin this week. and described it as further proof of “China’s efforts to promote peace” and its “equal distance and neutrality” stance.
The calendar rules out optimism. Li lands in Kiev war drums highly thundering on the eve of the announcement counterattack Ukraine will reconquer the occupied territories. Warn analysts, the two sides are confident that a positive development in the war will support their claims before negotiations. they don’t help either Doubts from Washington and Brussels On the mediation of China, which they see being overly inclined towards Russia. Kiev and Moscow are showing more interest in China’s efforts.
Putin’s medal
Li also did not escape the atmosphere of suspicion. As soon as his appointment became known, many were impressed by his Russophilia and the friendship medal he received. Vladimir Putin After serving as ambassador in Moscow for 10 years. A fervent archeologist in the newspaper library discovered that China said it “needs a strong Russia” and that both countries should “stand shoulder to shoulder”. From afar, he responds only to diplomatic uses, and analysts deny that ties to Moscow cloud his judgment.
There are no strips or tables at Li. It entered in 1975 when Moscow and Beijing were flirting with war and Mao ordered the excavation of nuclear bunkers in the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Soviet Affairs and Eastern Europe. In 2008 he was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister, and a year later he was sent to the Moscow Foreign Ministry. During his ten years in office, nine official visits Xi and bilateral trade tripled. She speaks fluent Russian and devotedly reads Tolstoy, Pushkin and Dostoevsky. Those who worked with him agree that he “knows the Russian soul.”
interested in Soviet Union thick and thin, then with Russia, and also with the independent republics and their conflicts. He had contacts with Ukraine and visited last year. GeorgiaWar with Russia in 2008. His appointment raised more questions in far Western diplomacy and media than Kiev. “We hope that your deep knowledge of our region will help you communicate with everyone in an impartial and effective manner,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko told NBC. His rank, which gives him more power and respect than a simple messenger, will also help him.
To touch
It will take tact to bring together not only Russia and Ukraine, but also France and Germany, whose presidents have been slammed for breaking the majority in Brussels after trips to Poland and Beijing, which are the most eager to fight the US.
Li’s peace mission marks China’s most determined effort to find a way out of the European conflict. Since February, he has defended his 12-point plan. urgent unconditional ceasefire. His proposal was downplayed by the West and garnered more support. Brazil and the Global South.