Ukraine Foreign Minister Meets With Chinese Counterpart Wang

(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he met with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.  

The officials discussed bilateral relations, trade, and the “need to restore a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, according to Kuleba’s post on X, formerly Twitter.  

Kuleba said he briefed Wang about Ukraine’s plans for a high-level meeting to discuss ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

Kyiv has been pushing for a meeting as soon as March, although the date is likely to slip to April or May due to a lack of commitment from world leaders, according to people familiar with the plans. Switzerland has said it’s open to hosting the gathering.

Read more: China’s Wang Says Time Isn’t Right to Talk Russia-Ukraine Peace

“We agreed on the need to maintain Ukraine-China contacts at all levels and continue our dialogue,” Kuleba said.  

Wang reiterated China’s position on Ukraine to promote peace talks in their meeting on Saturday, saying the country will never add fuel to the fire, according to a readout from Beijing.

The Chinese official also said China will never sell lethal weapons to conflict areas or parties in conflict, and will continue to play a constructive role in ending the war and re-establishing peace as soon as possible. 

Ukraine’s delegation in Munich made a meeting with Wang and other Chinese officials a priority. Yet Wang on Saturday said conditions aren’t currently right for talks centered on ending Russia’s two-year invasion of Ukraine. 

“China has done a lot of constructive work and we will continue to play a positive role,” Wang said in an on-stage interview at the conference on Saturday, while emphasizing his country isn’t solely responsible for resolving the crisis. 

–With assistance from Foster Wong.

(Updates with Chinese readout from sixth paragraph)

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