Western countries expressed skepticism about a proposal submitted by China today, Friday, for a ceasefire in Ukraine, while Russia announced its welcome to China's efforts, stressing the need to recognize Moscow's annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed some elements of the Chinese proposal, he said that Beijing did not present a real plan, but rather some "ideas", stressing that the country in which the war is taking place should launch the peace plan.

"I think it is right that if there are ideas that are compatible in one way or another with respect for international law and territorial integrity... let us work with China on this point," he said at a press conference in Kiev, adding, "Why not?"

Zelensky announced that he planned to hold a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and said, "This will be important for global security. China respects territorial integrity and must do everything to ensure that Russia leaves the territory of Ukraine."

Zelensky said that Beijing did not present a real plan, but rather some ideas (Getty Images)

On Friday, exactly one year since the start of Russia's war on Ukraine, China called for a comprehensive ceasefire, a proposal rejected by Kiev unless Russia withdraws its forces.

Beijing has urged gradual de-escalation and warned against the use of nuclear weapons, saying conflict benefits no one.

China's delegate to the Security Council said during a special session held on the anniversary of the war that diplomatic solutions are the only way to solve the Ukrainian crisis, and that putting the parties to the conflict around the negotiating table is not easy, but it is the first step towards a political solution.

Western skepticism

Regarding Western positions on the Chinese proposal, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken emphasized that "any proposal that could advance peace is something worth considering. We are taking a look at it."

"But... there are 12 points in the Chinese plan. If they are serious about the first point, which is sovereignty, this war could end tomorrow," he said.

"China is trying to combine the opposite: on the one hand, it is trying to publicly present itself as neutral and peace-seeking, while at the same time defending Russia's false narrative of war."

Blinken added that China provides non-lethal aid to Russia through its companies, repeating the accusation that Beijing is "now considering providing lethal assistance."


Plan or ideas?

In turn, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, considered that China did not offer a peace plan, but rather some principles, and said, "We will consider the principles, of course, but we will look at them in light of China's bias to one of the two parties."

For his part, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said China's proposal to end the war in Ukraine was "interesting", but it was not a comprehensive plan leading to peace.

Borrell declared at the United Nations, "It is not a peace plan, it is a proposal paper ... China has guaranteed all the positions expressed from the beginning."

However, the spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Stephane Dujarric, considered that the Chinese document is an "important contribution", praising in particular the call not to use nuclear weapons, stressing the "shared responsibility" to reach a "just peace".


And in Estonia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that Beijing signed an agreement with Moscow just days before it invaded Ukraine a year ago.

"China does not have much credibility because it was not able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine," he said.

Over the past few days, Western countries have warned that any move by China to sell weapons to Russia will have dire consequences.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC he would not confirm a report in Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that Russia is in talks with a Chinese manufacturer about buying 100 drones.

"So far, we haven't seen China provide lethal aid to Russia, and we keep stressing why that would be a huge mistake for them," he added.