Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attends a meeting with Spanish businessmen at a hotel in Beijing on Friday, March 31, 2023. ©Ng Han Guan/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reservedSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday that he had urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to talk to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about Kiev’s peace plan to end Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sanchez is in China for talks aimed at strengthening ties between Beijing and Madrid.
Speaking at a news conference at the Spanish embassy in Beijing, Sanchez said he had discussed “China’s position” on Russia’s war in Ukraine in meetings with Xi and other top Chinese officials.
He also accused Russian leader Vladimir Putin of trying to “undermine” the EU’s “multilateral project for peace and well-being”.
“I encouraged President Xi to have a conversation with President Zelenskyy to learn firsthand about this peace plan of the Ukrainian government,” Sanchez said.
Russia and China are primarily responsible for the increase in nuclear weapons
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said he would be open to talks with Xi — an overture the Chinese leader has yet to respond to — despite several rounds of talks with Putin.
Last month Beijing unveiled a 12-point document calling for a “political solution” to the crisis in Ukraine.
The document was immediately met with skepticism by Ukraine’s allies and was met with caution in Kiev.
Sanchez also welcomed Beijing’s stance against the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict on Friday, as well as its stated support for “territorial integrity”.
This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin plans last week to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West as it ramps up military support for Ukraine.
