Ukraine war: Encouraged Chinese prez Xi to talk to Zelensky, says Spanish PM

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is currently on a visit to China, said on Friday (March 31) that he expressed concerns over Russia's offensive in Ukraine during a meeting earlier in the day with Chinese President Xi Jinping and encouraged him to talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky has said repeatedly that he would be open to talks with Xi- an overture the Chinese president is yet to respond to, despite multiple rounds of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing on Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez said he told Xi that Madrid supported the peace formula proposed by Zelensky in November last year, which included demands to restore Ukraine's territory to the status quo before Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

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"I transmitted our concern at the illegal invasion of Ukraine," Sanchez said, the news agency Reuters reported.

"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," he said

Sanchez welcomed China's stance opposing the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict, and accused Russian President Putin of seeking to weaken the European Union's (EU) multilateral project for peace and welfare.

Before leaving for China, the Spanish PM said last week he would push for territorial integrity for Ukraine. He is the second European leader to visit China after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the East Asian country.

Spain, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has been a staunch ally of Ukraine. On Wednesday, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said that the government would send six German-made 2A4 Leopard tanks to the war-torn country after the April 9 Easter holiday.

"By sending the Leopards, we will continue to help the Ukrainian people... to defend themselves against an absolutely unjust attack," Robles said, adding, Madrid would repair another four tanks which would be sent in near future.

(With inputs from agencies)

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