Ukraine War: Kyiv tells Chinese envoy it won't accept proposals ceding territory to Russia

Ukraine would not accept any proposals to end the war with Russia that involved it losing territory or freezing the conflict, the foreign minister told a top Chinese envoy. Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs and former ambassador to Russia, visited Ukraine on Tuesday and Wednesday, and met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the ministry said in a statement. The visit is the first to Kyiv by a senior envoy from China, which has burgeoning ties with Russia, since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. “Kuleba briefed the special envoy of the Chinese government in detail on the principles of restoring a sustainable and just peace based on respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said. “He stressed that Ukraine did not accept any proposals involving the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict,” it said. The senior Chinese official’s trip to Europe is expected also to include talks in Russia, Poland, France and Germany. Beijing has refused to criticize the invasion and used its status as one of five permanent U.N. Security Council members to deflect diplomatic attacks on Russia. African countries are also undertaking a peace initiative over the war in Ukraine. South Africa’s president said Tuesday that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had agreed to separate meetings with a delegation of leaders from six African countries to discuss a possible peace plan. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Putin and Zelenskyy agreed to host “an African leaders peace mission” in Moscow and Kyiv, respectively. Ramaphosa didn’t give a time frame or outline any parameters for the possible peace talks. The Kremlin wants Kyiv to acknowledge Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, which most nations have denounced as illegal. Ukraine has rejected the demands and ruled out any talks with Russia until its troops pull back from all occupied territories. Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace plan also includes a tribunal to prosecute crimes of aggression, which would enable Russia to be held accountable for its invasion. With inputs from agencies. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.