Amid Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the phone.

This was the first call between the two leaders since the start of Russia’s invasion in Kyiv.

“I had a long and meaningful phone call with President Xi Jinping,” Zelensky said on Twitter. “I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations”.

Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky had “an almost one hour-long telephone conversation,” said Zelensky’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov on Facebook.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that during the call Xi told Zelensky “talks and negotiation” were the “only way out” of the war. “On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China has always stood on the side of peace and its core position is to promote peace talks,” CCTV reported Xi as saying.

According to a readout of the call, reported by CCTV, Xi said China “will neither watch the fire from the other side, nor add fuel to the fire, let alone take advantage of the crisis to profit”. 

“When dealing with the nuclear issue, all parties concerned should remain calm and restrained, truly focus on the future and destiny of themselves and all mankind, and jointly manage and control the crisis,” the Chinese president said.

Beijing says it is neutral in the conflict and Xi has never condemned the Russian invasion.

Meanwhile, the Chinese side said the Wednesday’s telephone call was initiated by Kyiv.

Asked during a press conference about the discussions, Yu Jun from China’s foreign ministry said “the call was initiated by the Ukrainian side”.

(With inputs from AFP)

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