China explains its reasons for not participating in the Ukraine peace conference.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning (Photo: EPA).

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on May 31 that China would not attend the Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland in mid-June because it did not meet Beijing's expectations.

China wanted both Russia and Ukraine to participate in the conference, but Russia, a party to the conflict, was not invited. Russia also argued that the conference would be meaningless because Moscow would not attend.

Switzerland and Ukraine are inviting countries to participate in a conference with the hope that this event will be able to lay the groundwork for a peace process in Ukraine.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: "The organization of the conference has not met China's requirements or the general expectations of the international community, making it difficult for China to participate."

"China has always emphasized that an international peace conference must be approved by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation from all parties, and that all peace proposals must be discussed fairly and equally. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the event to play a significant role in restoring peace," said Mao Ning.

She emphasized: "We regret that China did not take this opportunity to express its views on the platform of the summit in Switzerland."

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that China could act as a mediator to organize a peace conference involving both Moscow and Kyiv.

During his visit to China last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine could use the peace conference in Switzerland to try to persuade a broader group of countries to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal, terms that Moscow has accused of being an "ultimatum".

Putin also expressed support for China's peace proposal, emphasizing that Beijing fully understands the reasons behind the crisis in Ukraine.

For over two years, China has maintained a neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and has consistently called for all parties to sit down for negotiations.

Previously, the US and its allies had accused China of supplying Russia with dual-use goods, indirectly helping Moscow enhance its military production capabilities.

China rejected this information, saying that Beijing and Moscow have the right to trade goods.

China's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, called the accusation "baseless" and "completely unacceptable."

"China is neither the creator nor a participant in the Ukraine crisis. We have not supplied lethal weapons to any side in the conflict. We have not done what the U.S. has done, which is to deliberately prolong the war and profit from the crisis. We will not do that," he said.

China urged the U.S., Britain, and the West to find ways to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table, instead of trying to blame other countries.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/trung-quoc-neu-ly-do-khong-tham-gia-hoi-nghi-hoa-binh-ukraine-20240601195322323.htm