What’s brewing? China’s former ambassador to Russia is special envoy to Ukraine
The decision to appoint Li Hui as special envoy to Ukraine and other countries was taken moments after China’s President Xi Jinping held a telephonic conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy
China's President Xi Jinping. AFP.
China has appointed Li Hui, a former Chinese ambassador to Russia, as special envoy to Kyiv to help conduct “in-depth communication” and “find a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis.”
The decision to appoint Li Hui was taken moments after China’s President Xi Jinping held a telephonic conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Alongwith Ukraine, Hui will also visit “other countries” to look for a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict.
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Who is Li Hui?
Li Hui had served as the Chinese ambassador to Russia between 2009 and 2019.
He is China’s special representative on Eurasian Affairs.
Hui is also a familiar face to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Also, Russia felicitated friendship medal from Putin in 2019.
Russia keeping an eye on China’s moves
Russia, meanwhile, said that it has been taking notice of China’s willingness to facilitate negotiations with Ukraine.
“We note the readiness of the Chinese side to make efforts to establish the negotiation process,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
China plays a peace maker
Xi and Zelenskky on Tuesday had an hour-long phone – the first time in 14 months since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
The call also indicates that China may be angling to play a mediating role.
Xi told Zelenskyy that “talks and negotiation” were the “only way out” of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“Amid the current rise of reasonable thinking and voices from all sides, we should seize the opportunity to build up favourable conditions for a political settlement of the crisis,” the Chinese president told Zelenskyy.
After the conversation, Zelenskyy, took to Twitter, where he posted that he and Xi “had a long and meaningful conversation.”
The Ukrainian president said “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.”
Though China has declared itself to be neutral in the Ukraine conflict, Xi has not condemned the Russian offensive. In his meeting with Putin, the Chinese president suggested a willingness to hear out Moscow’s claims that its security interests have been violated by the US and other NATO nations in their support for Ukraine.
In February, almost a year after Putin began ‘special military operation in Ukraine, the UN General Assembly voted 141-7 to demand Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine and adherence to the UN Charter. China was among 32 nations that abstained.
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