Presidential advisor criticizes Beijing’s peace plan, offers advice on dealing with Moscow
China must take control of Russia because Putin is violating agreements, says Mykhailo Podoliak (Photo:Photo:Sputnik/Grigory Sysoev/Kremlin via REUTERS)
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, criticized China's "peace plan" and gave Beijing advice on how to deal with Russia, in a March 28 interview with NV Radio.
Podolyak noted that there are "mutually exclusive positions" in China's peace plan.
"We remember that, on the one hand, territorial integrity is a key factor of stability," he singles out one of the points in Beijing’s proposal.
“But at the same time, China is talking about an immediate ceasefire, which will mean leaving the occupied territories in the hands of the Russian Federation, which is mutually exclusive with these points.”
The official also noted that after a trip to Russia, China’s Xi Jinping saw an "absolutely insane political elite of the Russian Federation in the face of Putin himself" — people who do not keep their word and with whom it is impossible to make enduring agreements.
"Therefore, China needs to establish a more effective control over the economy, and most importantly, the state apparatus of Russia," said Podolyak.
“That is, to (establish itself) there in the same way as Russia has in relation to Belarus: in the same way, China in relation to Russia must control certain political and economic processes at the level of internal administration.”
Podolyak noted that while Beijing is ready for these steps, "it will take some time."
“Should China continue to insist on a peace plan as such and thus assume more substantial moderating functions, or, again, remain on the sidelines for the time being until they have total control of Russian statehood itself?" he described the choice China is presented with.
“It seems to me that China is now strategically considering this.”
In response to dictator Vladimir Putin's plan to place Russian nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, China said on March 27 that it was necessary to focus on settling the full-scale war against Ukraine "diplomatically."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, recalled that in January 2022, the leaders of five nuclear powers issued a joint statement, stressing that "a nuclear war cannot be won and therefore should not be waged,” making it imperative for countries with nuclear weapons to avoid their use.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow on March 20-22, becoming the first leader to meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.
During the joint press conference following their meeting, Putin said that China's "peace plan" can be used as a basis for a "peaceful settlement" of Russia's war against Ukraine.
"We believe that many provisions of the peace plan selected by China are consistent with Russian approaches," Putin said.
On Feb. 24, China published a position paper on the "resolution" of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, consisting of 12 points. Beijing called for a ceasefire and negotiations, short of urging the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Beijing taking an interest in Ukraine, but disagreed with some of the points in the document.
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