“This meeting is taking place at a very difficult time, which requires new, unusual approaches and responsible political decisions,” Lukashenko said during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“First of all, they must be directed to avoid getting into a global confrontation in which there will be no winners. That is why Belarus is actively coming up with peace proposals and fully supports the international security initiative you put forward,” Lukashenko said.
He also said that Belarus wants to increase cooperation with China in the field of technology.
On February 24, China officially released its peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. The plan consists of 12 points, and in it Beijing has called the war the “Ukraine crisis”.
In this plan, China calls for a cease-fire and the start of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and also calls for an end to Western sanctions against Russia, to take measures to guarantee the safety of nuclear facilities, to create humane corridors for the evacuation of civilians, and to take steps to ensure the export of grain.
The peace plan mainly outlined Beijing’s long-known positions, including the need to “effectively guarantee [visu valstu] sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”. It also calls for an end to the “Cold War mentality”, as China commonly refers to its US-attributed hegemony and interference in the affairs of other countries.
China has claimed neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, yet has “unrestricted” relations with Russia. China has also refused to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or even to name it as such, but has accused the West of provoking and “inflaming” the conflict by supplying Ukraine with defensive weapons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has stated that this Chinese peace plan is only an expression of Beijing’s thoughts. However, he acknowledged that it is good that China has started talking about the war in Ukraine.
