Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeks "direct talks" with Chinese President Xi Jinping to help end Russia's invasion of the Eastern European country, the South China Morning Post reported.
Zelenskyy told the Morning Post that Beijing hasn't replied to requests for talks since Russia began its unprovoked attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24. He added that he hadn't spoken with Xi in about a year.
Such a dialog "would be helpful," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy told the Morning Post that he believed China had the economic levers to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
"I'm confident, I'm sure that without the Chinese market for the Russian Federation, Russia would be feeling complete economic isolation," Zelenskyy told the newspaper. "That's something that China can do – to limit the trade [with Russia] until the war is over."
In his first interview with an Asian media outlet since the war began, Zelenskyy said Russia was spending revenue on "specific weapons which they use to fight against Ukraine" instead of on its own on people amid rising fuel prices.
Zelenskyy urged Xi and the Chinese communists to use their political and economic influence on Russia to end fighting.
"It's a very powerful state. It's a powerful economy," Zelenskyy told the Morning Post. "So [it] can politically, economically influence Russia. And China is [also a] permanent member of the UN Security Council."
Zelenskyy added that his countrymen shared fundamental values with the Chinese.
"Everyone loves their kids. Everyone wants to live in peace," he told the outlet.
Xi has refused to condemn Russia's war in Ukraine and declared a "no limits" friendship with Putin weeks before the invasion. Putin then called Xi on Xi's birthday in June.
Bloomberg reported that dialog between Ukraine and China has been limited to lower level diplomatic exchanges, such as between the foreign ministers.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Thursday said China had maintained communication with "all relevant parties on the Ukraine crisis."
Asked about direct talks between Ukraine and China, she said the countries communicate "through diplomatic channels," Bloomberg reported.
© 2022 Newsmax. All rights reserved.