Ukraine's Kuleba Holds Three-Hour Talks with China's Wang Yi on Path to Peace

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba engaged in over 3 hours of discussions with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Guangzhou on Wednesday, July 24. This meeting is part of Kuleba’s extended visit to China aimed at exploring avenues for achieving peace in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

"The talks have just concluded. They lasted for over three hours in total, longer than planned. This was a very deep and concrete conversation," a Ukrainian source in the delegation told Reuters.

Before the meeting began, Kuleba stated that he expected "thorough and substantive talks on bilateral relations, the international agenda and, most importantly, the path to peace."

"I am convinced that a just peace in Ukraine is in China's strategic interests, and China's role as a global force for peace is important," Kuleba added.

Minister Kuleba informed his colleague about the results of the Summit on Peace for Ukraine in Switzerland and explained the logic of further steps in the implementation of the Peace Formula as a way to a fair end to Russian aggression.

Ukraine’s Summit on Peace, which was held on June 15-16, 2024, discussed the fundamental principles of sustainable peace worldwide, focusing on Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine. Representatives from over 90 countries took part in the summit, China did not participate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy anticipates hosting a second peace summit in November 2024.

During the negotiations, the parties also exchanged views on the current state and prospects for the development of bilateral relations, as well as the international agenda.

Dmytro Kuleba presented the consistent position of Ukraine, which consists in the readiness to conduct negotiations with the Russian side at a certain stage, when Russia will be ready to conduct negotiations in good faith, but emphasized that currently such readiness is not observed on the Russian side.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasized that "Russian aggression is not only an obstacle to the development of Ukraine. It also stands in the way of international stability, the development of good neighborly relations, and in particular the development of trade between China and Europe."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in turn mentioned the Sino-Brazilian "peace plan" of six points.