Russia weighs in on China's peace plan, says no conditions for peace 'at the moment' in Ukraine

Russia weighed in on the 12-point peace plan presented by China, terming it a political solution in Ukraine but also mentioned that the given conditions for a peaceful resolution of the war were not in place "at the moment".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia paid a "lot of attention to our Chinese friends' plan", he further added that "for now, we don't see any of the conditions that are needed to bring this whole story towards peace."

China recently said that it hopes to play a constructive role in resolving the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine and came up with the so-called peace plan in the form of a 12-point foreign ministry paper for a gradual de-escalation between the warring nations.

The move was vastly welcomed by the Western nations despite growing speculations that Beijing is mulling over sending "lethal aid" to Moscow for the Ukraine war.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had also said Moscow was open to achieving the goals of the "special military operation" through political and diplomatic means.

Meanwhile, United States President Joe Biden had told media outlet ABC News in an interview that the idea that Beijing would be negotiating the outcome of the Ukraine war was not "rational".

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In the past few days, a glimmer of hope is seen with several mentions of diplomatic talks and proposals of peace plans. French President Emmanuel Macron also announced last week that he will visit China in early April, which will be his official visit—anattempt to seek Chinese help with ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

However, Russia has hinted that any settlement of the conflict needed to recognise Russia's control over four Ukrainian regions as Moscow claims to have annexed the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson but never fully controlled them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needed to work with China, arguing "it seems to me that there is respect for our territorial integrity, security issues" from the Chinese perspective.

Zelensky also said he was convinced that only a country whose territory is under attack can initiate "any peace initiatives."

Kremlin on situation in Moldovan region

Kremlin also said that it is concerned by the situation in Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, where it said Ukraine and other European countries were stirring up the situation.

Moscow last week told the West that it would view any actions that threatened Russian peacekeepers in Transdniestria as an attack on Russia itself.

The warning came amid increased concerns in Moldova, a small ex-Soviet republic located between Romania and Ukraine, of a possible Russian threat.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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