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Senior U.S. and European officials see Beijing as a possible mediator between Russia and Ukraine if Kyiv’s upcoming counterattack creates an opportunity for peace talks, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The planned counteroffensive could turn the tide of the war, although senior Ukrainian leaders have begun to worry that the campaign to force Russia out of occupied regions may not live up to Western expectations, The reported, citing conversations from the previous week. However, it could be enough to persuade China to put its relationship with Russia to the test and bring both sides to the negotiating table, particularly as the warring countries understand they cannot carry on fighting indefinitely, officials said, according to the WSJ.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has previously expressed doubt over China’s trustworthiness as intermediary given its closeness to Russia, the WSJ reported. In February, Western governments largely discounted China’s proposed peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine war, which blamed Western governments for fomenting the conflict, amid simultaneous statements of concern that China was considering providing lethal assistance to Russia.
