Russia and the US have met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for negotiations, while Kiev and Brussels have not been invited
China has expressed hope that all parties involved in the Ukraine conflict will eventually be included in peace negotiations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the statement on Tuesday, as a high-level meeting between Russian and US delegations kicked off in Saudi Arabia.
The meeting in Riyadh seeks to restore diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington and lay the groundwork for settling the conflict. Representatives from Kiev and the EU are not taking part in the discussions.
”We hope that all parties involved and stakeholders can participate in the peace talks process in due course,” Guo said.
Teams led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are meeting in the first high-level talks between the two countries over Ukraine since 2022.
US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg has argued that bringing too many parties to the negotiations could slow down the progress, but reiterated that the interests of Kiev and Brussels would be considered.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said that Kiev did not know anything about the talks and will not recognize any agreements that come out of them.
Beijing has played an active role in advocating for a diplomatic solution since the escalation of hostilities nearly three years ago, proposing a 12-point peace plan in 2023 and maintaining dialogue with both Moscow and Kiev.
Guo stated that Beijing believes dialogue and negotiating are the only viable ways out of the crisis.
