Xi Jinping announces conditions for Ukraine conflict to end

A ceasefire in the conflict in Ukraine can be achieved if all major powers "show positive rather than negative energy," Chinese leader Xi Jinping said after meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Orban called China the key country that can contribute to resolving the crisis in Ukraine.

The international community should create conditions and provide assistance for the resumption of direct dialogue and negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said at a press conference following his meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Xinhua reports.

"An early ceasefire in this conflict be achieved only if all major powers show positive rather than negative energy to prevent the conflict from spreading, to avoid the escalation of war," Xi said adding that the positions of China and Hungary coincide as far as the conflict is concerned.

For his part, Orban called China a key country in creating conditions for peace in the conflict.

China was the third country that Viktor Orban visited as part of his "peace mission." Before going to China, Orban held meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev and then with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The Hungarian prime minister suggested that Zelensky considered the possibility of a ceasefire before sitting down at the negotiating table. However, the Ukrainian president, Orban said, did not like the idea very much, although he promised to think about it. Ukraine wants peace, but sees peace summits like the one held in Switzerland in mid-June as a tool for progress.

Orban also asked Putin for an agreement on a short-term ceasefire, but the Russian leader assumed Kiev could take advantage of it, the Hungarian prime minister said after the meeting.

China has repeatedly advocated a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine. In February 2023, Beijing presented a 12-point plan for a possible settlement and expressed readiness to facilitate the peace process. Russia agrees with China's position, Ukraine called the plan unacceptable. Moscow has repeatedly emphasised that it is open for negotiations, but Kiev is not willing to take up such an opportunity.