China’s top diplomat Wang Yi wants to hold talks in Moscow today on a possible Ukraine peace deal. That’s what a diplomatic source familiar with the process said. The Russian newspaper Kommersant had already reported that Wang had already arrived. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment, as did Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Wang announced that China would present a proposal for possible peace talks. He held several talks with European governments and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Munich. He, in turn, warned Beijing against providing Russia with military support in the war.
So far, Wang has not condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022 or called it an “invasion” – although he himself has repeatedly pointed out the necessary territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.
A former foreign minister, he is now director of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China – making him the country’s top diplomat.
Also visiting Budapest
Wang also met Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Budapest. The minister praised Wang’s efforts to develop Sino-Hungarian relations on Facebook. Hungary would rank high on the investment map of the biggest Chinese companies.
Political observers saw the visit as an aim to win over the Hungarian government to a possible peace deal for Ukraine. Hungary is important to China because, as a member of the EU and NATO, it is adopting a “radically different policy towards China and Russia”, according to Akos Bertalan Apatoczky, head of the China Chair at the Gaspar Karoli Reformed University in Budapest, in the Infostart online portal. Wang’s visit could also be significant for Hungary’s special approach to foreign policy.