Spain's PM Sanchez urges Xi Jinping to communicate with Zelenskyy amid war in Ukraine
Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain signaled his support of Ukraine to President Xi
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping to consider Ukraine's proposal to end the Russian invasion of its country.
Sanchez said at a Beijing press conference on Friday that he notified Xi that Spain supported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposals to end the war. The recent demands included a request for Russia to restore Ukrainian territory that was taken during and after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
"I believe it's a plan that lays the foundations for a durable peace in Ukraine and is perfectly aligned with the United Nations charter and its principles, which have been violated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin with his invasion," Sanchez said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I transmitted our concern over the illegal invasion of Ukraine," the prime minister added, saying that he encouraged Xi to talk with Zelenskyy one-on-one.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 15, 2022.
Sanchez's comments come after Beijing released its own take on an ideal political solution to the war in Ukraine. However, China's position paper did not acknowledge that Russia was the aggressor.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sanchez did commend that China's paper respected territorial integrity and "its complete and categorical rejection of not only the use but even the threat to use nuclear weapons."
Xi recently expressed a desire to end the "Cold War mentality" in geopolitics and "extreme" sanctions, but did not call out Russia.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, March 21. (Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo)
"We hope that all parties concerned will build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture through dialogue and consultation," Xi said, according to CCTV.
Last week, Biden said that Russia and China's economic relationship is ‘vastly exaggerated[d]' in response to Xi and Putin's meeting in March to discuss their economic partnership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a media conference after the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We hope that the strategic partnership between China and Russia will on the one hand uphold international fairness and justice, and on the other hand promote the common prosperity and development of our countries," Xi said during a joint press conference.
Reuters contributed to this report.