Ukraine's top diplomat in Beijing for talks on ending war

BEIJING — Ukraine's foreign minister was in China on Tuesday for talks on how officials there might help end the war with Russia, whose ties with Beijing have grown stronger since the conflict began.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's visit until Friday is his first since the outbreak of the war in February 2022.

Kyiv said Kuleba's visit would focus on "ways to stop Russian aggression" as well as "China's possible role in achieving a sustainable and just peace".

President Xi Jinping told Hungary's Viktor Orban this month that world powers should help Russia and Ukraine restart direct negotiations. Orban's visit to Beijing was branded as a "peace mission".

China also released a paper last year calling for a "political settlement" to the conflict. However, it was criticised by Western countries for enabling Russia to retain much of the territory it has seized in Ukraine.

Beijing has rebuffed claims it is supporting Russia’s war effort, insisting last week that its position was “open and above board” and accusing the West of fuelling the conflict through arms shipments to Kyiv.

Beijing, a close political and economic ally of Russia, did not attend a peace summit in Switzerland last month, protesting against Moscow not being invited.