Swiss Foreign Minister hopes China can "help" in Ukraine peace talks

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Wednesday that he hopes China will "help us" in peace talks, after Switzerland agreed last month to host a Global Peace Summit initiated by Ukraine, UNN reports citing Reuters.

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Ukraine says it has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend a planned peace summit with world leaders in Switzerland to find ways to end the war when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

At the request of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, neutral Switzerland agreed to host the event, but the date and location have not yet been determined.

China has maintained close ties with Russia, refraining from criticizing its invasion of Ukraine, but has also said that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected and offered to help mediate the conflict, the newspaper writes.

Asked at a press conference in Beijing whether China had responded to the summit invitation, Cassis said: "This is a very high-level conference, we cannot expect an immediate response.

Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an "unlimited" partnership in Beijing just three weeks before the Russian invasion, almost two years ago. Since then, China has dramatically increased its energy imports from Russia.

I am interested in getting help from China because China has excellent relations with Russia

So far, China has not announced whether it will participate in the peace summit or not.

"We will continue to promote peace talks in our own way and seek a political solution to the crisis," a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said separately at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

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