(Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi did not discuss a reported Chinese plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine when they met on Wednesday, Moscow said.
Wang, the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Russia since it invaded Ukraine almost a year ago, met President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov separately amid speculation the two sides would discuss a possible Chinese peace plan for Ukraine.
“We note statements by some Western politicians and media reports regarding some kind of ‘Chinese peace plan’. As usual, they distort the real picture,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
“The Chinese partners briefed us on their views on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as approaches to its political settlement. There was no talk of any separate plan,” she added.
Russia said on Wednesday it welcomed China taking a more active role in efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and said it valued China’s “balanced approach”, with Beijing signalling it was ready to take a “constructive role”.
While China has taken a nuanced stance on the conflict, criticising Western sanctions against Russia but stopping short of endorsing the war, both countries share a vision of limiting what they see as Western dominance over global affairs.
The two countries signed a “no limits” strategic partnership days before the invasion last Feb. 24, and have since held joint military drills over the Sea of Japan, East China Sea and Western Pacific.
Moscow’s foreign ministry said earlier that it was studying a newly released paper on Beijing’s Global Security Initiative, Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s flagship security proposal.
(Reporting by Caleb Davis; editing by David Ljunggren and Jonathan Oatis)
