China Releases 12-Point Peace for Ukraine
US officials are still claiming Beijing is considering arming Russia
by Dave DeCamp Posted onFebruary 26, 2023CategoriesNewsTagsChina, Russia, Ukraine
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.
Author: Dave DeCamp
Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave. View all posts by Dave DeCamp
