China on Friday released a 12-point peace plan as a potential settlement for the war in Ukraine as US officials are still claiming Beijing is considering arming Russia.
The plan was released on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website and calls for the cessation of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks between the warring sides.
“Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis. All efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be encouraged and supported,” the plan says.
The 12 points are:
- Respecting the sovereignty of all countries
- Abandoning the Cold War mentality
- Ceasing hostilities
- Resuming peace talks
- Resolving the humanitarian crisis
- Protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POWs)
- Keeping nuclear power plants safe
- Reducing strategic risks
- Facilitating grain exports
- Stopping unilateral sanctions
- Keeping industrial and supply chains stable
- Promoting post-conflict reconstruction
While some Ukrainian officials criticized the plan, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed an openness to some of the ideas and said he would like to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I believe that the fact that China started talking about Ukraine is not bad,” he said.
While Zelensky welcomed China’s initiative, President Biden criticized China’s proposal and rejected the idea of Beijing mediating an end to the war. “I’ve seen nothing in the plan that would indicate that there is something that would be beneficial to anyone other than Russia if the Chinese plan were followed,” he said.
“It’s the idea that China is going to be negotiating the outcome of a war that’s a totally unjust war for Ukraine is just not rational,” Biden said.
Following the release of China’s plan, US officials repeated their claim that China is considering sending weapons to Moscow to aid the Russian war effort, an allegation the Chinese Foreign Ministry has rejected.
CIA Director William Burns said Sunday that he was “confident” Chinese leadership was considering sending arms but said there was no evidence they’ve made a decision to do so. He said the purpose of publicizing the claim was to “deter” China from arming Moscow as the US has threatened “consequences” if Beijing takes that step.
In the early days of the war, US officials claimed Russia asked China for military assistance. But it was later revealed by a report from NBC News that the US didn’t have “hard evidence” to back up the claim.
All of the points are commendable but it doesn’t really say how it applies to Ukraine. For eg. is Ukraine a sovereign nation, separate from Russia? If so, which parts? Donbass? Crimea? Nova Russia? Also, if the US has taken Ukraine as a colony, is it still an independent nation? As long as the US controls Ukraine Russia will be reluctant to agree to any cease fire given America’s track record.
Avoiding WW III, or at least delaying it, seems the main purpose behind “negotiations”. But there are many such pieces of paper being blown around by the winds of history.
https://patternofhistory.wordpress.com/
The only goal of negotiations now is the same as was the last one — delay to allow the West to rearm Ukraine and attack again.
That was the purpose of Minsk I, II. Merkel let that cat out of the bag.
It is not really a peace plan, so it does not challenge American ideas of possible peace.
China is not sending weapons, nor does Russia need them, so that is not an issue either.
Why the extreme drama? Two things:
1) China is a near term target of the neocons, and this is preparing the political battlefield; and
2) neocons feel threatened by China over the Ukaine War. This threat is not for what China’s plan said or what China does, but for the appeal to US “allies” to pull away from the US project. Germany for example already is not pleased about the Nordstream attack, and not pleased with the tank fiasco, and not pleased by the way the war is going (sanctions not the promised panacea) and so may be ready to listen to China, may already have listened in the Munich meetings. China threatens unity behind DC, not peace, not weapons.
Murka ain’t about to give dem damn Chinese commie pinkos NO credit for helping to negotiate the end of da war! THAT THERE would look REAL f*ckin’ bad for Murka if them there commies were able to do so!
It’s our way or the f*ckin’ highway, even if it means total planetary destruction! If the Cadaver in Chief somehow survives it, he’ll do an Albright and say “IT WAS WORTH IT!”
Biden: “I’ve seen nothing in the plan that would indicate that there is something that would be beneficial to anyone other than Russia if the Chinese plan were followed,” he said.
What a f*cking moron. But other than #10, he’s right.
It is good that the China proposal is vague. That is the only way to get Russia and Ukraine to the table. The key to a peace process is engagement by the parties and credibility and creativity by the intermediaries.
The MSM is mainly ignoring Zelenskyy’s request for a meeting with Xi. Zelenskyy’s move demonstrates that despite all the US/NATO aid, the Ukrainian reesistance sees itself in nationalistic terms and not as an agent of NATO. I hope Zelenskyy maintains his independence. And I hope Turkeycand possibly India and the African Union partner with China as intermediaries.
I am troubled by China’s failure to respond quickly to Zelenskyy’s offer to meet. But China moves at its own pace. l
Biden’s response is a non sequitur. China’s, or anybody else’s role as mediator is nowhere in the 12 points. Pope Frank I has offered the Vatican. But anyway it’s all fantasy coz Nazis sure enough sign but don’t honor.