As the war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of last month entered its fourth week, peace negotiations that seemed to be on the verge of speeding up came to a stalemate.
Expectations for a ceasefire increased when Ukraine finally expressed its intention to give up its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in negotiations that had been running in parallel.
In the midst of this, ‘China’ is emerging as a new variable. Currently, Western intelligence authorities are predicting that the Russian military could withdraw from Ukraine within 10 to 14 days as early as possible because the Russian army could not lead the war into a long-term war due to logistical issues. Therefore, the availability of China’s support for war supplies can be an important variable.
Under these circumstances, US President Joe Biden is scheduled to hold a phone meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 18th. President Biden is expected to send a ‘warning’ message to China’s support for Russia, while ordering Xi to act as an ‘intermediary’ in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
◇FT “Ukraine, provisional agreement for ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from Russia upon recognition of neutrality”… Russia “total misinformation”
The Russian Kremlin has denied the report the previous day in the British Financial Times (FT) that the Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations had reached a tentative agreement.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian Kremlin (President’s Office), denied at a regular briefing on the same day that a related question about whether the provisional agreement was true was “not true”.
A spokesperson for Peskov said, “Some of the content is correct, but it is not entirely correct. We will announce it when progress is made.”
The FT reported earlier, citing the comments of three sources familiar with the matter, “The Ukraine-Russian negotiating delegation said, “Ukrainian side will give up its NATO membership in the future and will not receive foreign troops or weapons in exchange for protection from the US, UK, Turkey, etc. We have tentatively agreed on the contents.”
However, according to the FT and others, Russia proposed 15 points as a draft agreement to Ukraine, which included the reversion to Krum (Crimea) annexed in 2014 and Donbas (Donetsk and Luhan) instead of withdrawing troops from the territories occupied after the invasion on the 24th of last month. sk) included a demand to recognize independence.
◇ Biden and Xi Jinping are scheduled to speak on the 18th… U.S.-China rivalry discusses Ukraine issue
US President Joe Biden will hold a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time on the 18th since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
White House press secretary Jen Saki said in a statement that the call between the two leaders “is part of our continued efforts to maintain an open line of communication between the United States and China” and that the two leaders “managed competition between the two countries, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and other mutual We will discuss our concerns.”
Amid the prolonged Russian invasion of Ukraine, China, which has shown pro-Russia tendencies, is showing support for Russia, unlike the West, including the US, which is urging Russia to stop the war by imposing economic sanctions on Russia. The focus is on the currency.
This is the fourth time the two leaders have had conversations since Biden took office, and the first in four months since the first video summit on November 15 last year. In February and September of last year, they had phone calls for about 2 hours and 1 hour and 30 minutes, respectively.
◇ Russia’s request for military assistance, China’s “no intention” stance… US warns of ‘significant cost’ for intervention
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is known to have demanded military and economic assistance from China, fears of an escalation of a war are growing, the Chinese government has made it clear that it has no intention of providing military support.
China’s ambassador to Ukraine, Fan Sienrong, said in a press release on the 14th that “China will never attack Ukraine” in a meeting with Maxim Kozicky, head of the Lviv Provincial Defense Administration, on the 14th.
Ambassador Pan’s remarks and the meeting with officials from the Lviv provincial government took place right after the British Financial Times reported on the 13th that ‘Russia is asking China for economic and military assistance in relation to the invasion of Ukraine’.
Shortly after the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhao Lijian refuted the report as malicious fake news, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “Russia has never asked China for assistance with Ukraine.” .
“We will help Ukraine economically,” Pan said. “In the current situation, we will act responsibly,” he added.
Although China has dismissed the Ukrainian intervention, concerns from the West remain.
US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln said at a media briefing on the 17th that he was concerned that China was considering direct support of military equipment that Russia would use in Ukraine. We will make it clear that if we support the invasion of[Ukraine]we will hold them accountable and pay the price.”
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan previously met with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Yang Jiechi in Rome, Italy on the 14th, warning that China would face serious consequences if China provided military aid or other assistance to Russia in violation of economic sanctions.
◇ Zelensky appeals to the current parliament to “tear down the ‘Second Berlin Wall’ built in Europe”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for help in breaking down the new barriers that Russia has built in Europe in a video address to the German parliament on the 17th.
“This is not the Berlin Wall, it is the central European wall between freedom and restraint, and this wall is getting bigger with every bomb,” Zelensky said to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. said.
It was reminiscent of an appeal by then-US President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in 1987, AFP reported.
President Zelensky also made a reminiscent of the Holocaust. President Zelensky said, “Every year, politicians say ‘not again’, but now I know that these words are useless. Children lost their lives,” he said.
President Zelensky repeatedly appealed to the end to “help us stop this war.”
Despite Zelensky’s direct criticism, German parliamentarians gave a standing ovation after the 15-minute speech ended, AFP reported.
Earlier, President Zelensky received a standing ovation in his address to the US Congress the day before as an appeal that drew historical sympathy, saying that ‘Pearl Harbor’ and ‘9/11 terrorists’ are taking place every day in Ukraine. In addition, video speeches have been held at parliaments in several countries, including the UK and Canada.
◇ Turkish President Says He Will Host Putin-Zelensky Talks
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced to Vladimir Putin that he would personally host the summit between Russia and Ukraine.
According to Reuters, Erdogan said in a phone call with Putin on the same day that “Agreement on certain issues may require talks between leaders.”
Turkey’s presidential office said in a statement today that Erdogan had remarked that “a permanent ceasefire (between Russia and Ukraine) could lead to a long-term solution.”
On the same day, Ukraine and Turkey said they were focusing on preparing for a summit between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin.
“Turkey is one of the countries that Ukraine wants to make a security agreement with,” said Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva.
◇ ‘Logistics problem’ Russian military, progress is slowing… 2000 civilian casualties
Analysts suggest that Russia is struggling with logistical problems.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motzanyak said the Russian military had not made much progress around Kiiu in the past 24-48 hours and used “light” artillery fire. said
The British Ministry of Defense said the Russian invasion had mostly stopped on all fronts, and that it had suffered heavy losses in land, sea and air in recent days and that progress had been minimal.
Indiscriminate bombing by the Russian military continues to cause civilian casualties. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a total of 2,032 civilian casualties, including 780 killed and 1,522 wounded, were estimated to have occurred in Ukraine since midnight on the 16th, the day before the invasion.
(Seoul = News 1)
