Peace momentum must be sustained by talks between Russia and Ukraine

On announcing in April 2023 that a special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs was to visit Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth communication with all parties with the aim of promoting a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, President Xi Jinping stressed that dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way to end the conflict.

As a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, China has been committed to promoting talks for peace since day one of the conflict. It supports resolving the crisis through dialogue and negotiation, and calls on all parties to create conditions for the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Beijing has therefore welcomed the news that high-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul, Turkiye, on Thursday in what was their first direct talks in three years, opening up the prospect of a potential ceasefire as well as a path forward for resolving the Ukraine crisis through dialogues and negotiations.

The talks, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and observed by high-ranking officials from the United States including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg, have raised hopes that further steps could be taken that lead to a breakthrough that can help end the Ukraine crisis.

Given that the last known direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow took place in Turkiye and Belarus in the spring of 2022, the current positive momentum is both hard-won and worth cherishing. Both the belligerent parties and the influential players involved should show good faith and flexibility so as to pave the way for the talks to yield positive results.

The direct talks were made possible after an array of diplomatic overtures from Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky over the past few days. After the Ukrainian leader, backed by his European allies, called for Russia to agree to an immediate 30-day ceasefire last week, the Russian leader proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in the Turkish city.

Trump, who is on a three-nation tour in the Middle East, indicated at first that he might also show up in Istanbul, but later announced he wouldn't. Although the attendance of only Zelensky may make those looking for dramatic scenes disappointed, even without the participation of Putin and Trump, the meeting is still significant.

As the first direct communication between the two belligerents in three years, the meeting provides a much-needed opportunity for the two parties to talk face-to-face to explore ways to resolve their conflict.

The White House may try to claim credit for the seemingly positive development since it has been pushing and nudging both sides to talk after making major policy shifts since the new incumbent took office. Yet there is no getting away from the fact that the conflict has been a proxy war instigated by the US with the aim of weakening Russia in preparation for the US' switch of focus from Europe to the Asia-Pacific.

Nor from the fact that other members of the international community have also contributed by constantly urging the belligerent parties to resolve the crisis through political means. On Tuesday, China and Brazil issued a joint statement on the Ukraine crisis, welcoming Putin's proposal to open peace talks and Zelensky's positive response.

The two countries put forward a six-point proposal aimed at promoting a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis based on direct dialogue as the only way to end the conflict. To that end there should be no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation by any party.

China stands on the side of peace, and its core stance is to facilitate peace talks. That has always been and remains China's position. China did not create the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to the crisis. All it does is aboveboard. Any attempts to portray China's stance and actions otherwise are ill-intentioned, and meant to belie the facts and its endeavors to promote peace with the politicized intention of undermining its principled position.

It is to be hoped all the efforts that have been and are being made for the resumption of direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will now start to bear fruit.

A fair, lasting and binding peace deal arrived at through dialogue and negotiation is the only way to realize a sustainable settlement of the Ukraine crisis.