The organisation claims that Ukrainian authorities are using the upcoming summit in Malta as a platform to pursue neutral nations.
According to a Bloomberg story on Thursday, China is probably going to miss a significant international gathering of security experts in Malta this week that is focused on ending the situation in Ukraine. The meeting, which is anticipated to be attended by delegates from over 50 countries, will centre on the “peace formula” that Kiev supports but Moscow rejects.
Participants in the summit, which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will include members of the G7 Group, Qatar, South Africa, India, and Turkey, among others, according to people familiar with the matter who were interviewed by the agency. A number of other nations, including Brazil and Chile, are anticipated to join virtually.
The head of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s office, Andrey Yermak, stated on Friday that it will tackle many aspects of Kiev’s “peace formula,” such as humanitarian concerns, energy and food security, and “the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.”
Zelensky’s ten-point plan, which was first proposed last year, also asks for the creation of a tribunal to try Moscow for suspected war crimes and the withdrawal of Russian forces from areas that Ukraine claims as its own. Russia has called the idea a proof that Ukraine is not serious about the talks and has repeatedly rejected it as inappropriate.
According to Bloomberg, Zelensky would be “disappointed” if Beijing chooses not to attend the meeting. Zelensky had intended to garner support for his idea at a summit that serves as a forum for Ukrainian authorities to address nations that have stayed mostly neutral on the crisis.
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The meeting in Malta is scheduled to take place after comparable events in Denmark in June and Saudi Arabia in August. China attended the latter, even though Russia was not there; Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said at the time that it contributed “to consolidate international consensus.”
Moscow has stated that it doesn’t think peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are worthwhile. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova specifically criticised the Malta meeting on Thursday, calling it “pointless and counterproductive” and stating that those responsible for creating its agenda use “blackmail and threats” to entice as many neutral nations as they can.
China has not complied with Western sanctions against Moscow since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, claiming that NATO’s post-Cold War expansion contributed to the issue.
