Zelensky ‘ready’ to meet Xi Jinping, invites Chinese leader to visit Ukraine
Hindustan TimesUkraine's president invited his powerful Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to visit the war-torn nation, saying they haven't been in contact since the war began and he is “ready to see him here.” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky “I want to speak with him,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Associated Press on Tuesday, the week after Xi visited Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. Zelenskyy has extended invitations to Xi before in recent months, but this explicit call to visit comes days after the Chinese leader visited Putin in Russia last week. But during all this year, more than one year, I didn’t have.” In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked whether Xi would accept an invitation from Zelenskyy — or whether one had been officially extended. She did say that Beijing maintains “communication with all parties concerned, including Ukraine.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked whether a meeting between Xi and Zelenskyy would be useful to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, said Russian authorities “highly appreciate” China’s balanced position on the issue and “have no right to come up with any advice” on whether the two should meet.