Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invites Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to visit his country

Ukraine’s president invited his powerful Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to visit the war-torn country, saying they have not been in contact since the war began and that he “looks forward to seeing him here.”

“I want to talk with him,” Volodymyr Zelensky told The Associated Press on Tuesday, the week Xi met Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. There was no immediate reaction from China on whether Xi would visit Ukraine.

China has been economically aligned and politically friendly towards neighboring Russia for decades, and Beijing has provided diplomatic cover for Putin by at stake in the war’s official position of neutrality. Xi, a powerful leader who controls the resources of the world’s most populous country, is a key player in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and even China’s lack of involvement is a powerful statement.

Russian court sentences single father to 2 years in prison for criticizing war in Ukraine on social media

Zelensky spoke to the AP on a train that shuttled him across Ukraine, some to towns near fierce fighting and others where his country’s forces successfully repelled Russia’s invasion. The AP is the first news organization to travel extensively with Zelensky since the war began a year earlier.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky waves goodbye after an interview on a train traveling to Kiev, Ukraine, March 28, 2023. In the interview, Zelensky claims that he invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Zelensky had previously extended an invitation to Xi in recent months, but the apparent call for a visit comes days after the Chinese leader visited Putin in Russia last week. But the Ukrainian leader said he has not communicated with Xi for the duration of the conflict.

Where is all Ukraine’s money going? This person can help find the truth

“We’re ready to see him here,” Zelensky said. “I had contact with him before the full-scale war. But during this whole year, more than a year, I didn’t have.”

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked whether Xi would accept Zelensky’s invitation – or whether one had been officially extended. He told reporters that he had no information to give. She said Beijing “maintains communication with all relevant parties, including Ukraine.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asked whether a meeting between Xi and Zelensky would be useful to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, saying Russian officials “highly appreciate” China’s balanced position on the issue and “with any advice”. has no right to come” both must be met. “The Chinese leader himself decides the appropriateness of certain contacts,” Peskov said during his daily conference call with reporters on Wednesday.

Xi’s visit to Russia last week raised the prospect that Beijing may be ready to provide Moscow with the arms and ammunition it needs to replenish its depleted stockpile. But Xi’s visit ended without any announcement. A few days later, Putin announced that he would deploy strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus, which neighbors Russia and pushes the Kremlin’s nuclear stockpile closer to NATO territory.

Click here to get the Fox News app

Zelensky suggested that Putin’s move was intended to deflect attention from the lack of guarantees received from China.

“What does this mean? It means that the trip was not good for Russia,” Zelensky speculated.