China’s president Xi Jinping has held his first call with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine – and has offered to send an envoy to Kyiv and other capitals to hold talks on resolving the war.
Beijing has not condemned the invasion – or shied away from its close ties with Moscow – and Mr Zelensky quickly played up the significance of the “long and meaningful” call, in which Mr Xi is said to have indicted his willingness to help facilitate peace talks aimed at achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible. Kyiv also announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Beijing.
