On Friday, the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China put forth a 12-point proposal to bring an end to the war.
As part of this proposal, it suggested:
- Respecting the sovereignty of all countries.
- Abandoning the Cold War mentality: the security of a country should not be pursued at the expense of others.
- Ceasing hostilities: resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire.
- Resuming peace talks: efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be encouraged and supported.
- Resolving the humanitarian crisis: humanitarian operations should follow the principles of neutrality and impartiality, and should not be politicised.
- Protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POW): both parties must avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities, protect women, children and other victims of the conflict, and respect the basic rights of POWs.
- Keeping nuclear power plants safe: both sides must play a constructive role in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities.
- Reducing strategic risk: the threat or use of nuclear weapons should be opposed and nuclear proliferation must be prevented.
- Facilitating grain exports: all parties must implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the UN.
- Stopping unilateral sanctions: countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” against other countries.
- Keeping industrial and supply chains stable: the spillovers of the crisis must be mitigated to prevent it from disrupting international cooperation in energy, finance, food trade and transportation.
- Promoting post-conflict reconstruction.
China to find peace plan for Russia-Ukraine conflict when West failed to mediate but only add fuel to fire
— Zhang Heqing张和清 (@zhang_heqing) February 23, 2023
https://t.co/9uCppvAX4b pic.twitter.com/L3vY5S5EUF
China’s UNGA Abstention
China abstained in a UN General Assembly (UNGA) vote on Thursday, wherein the body approved a nonbinding resolution calling on Russia to end violence in Ukraine and withdraw its troops.
Baerbock further: Peace can only be “based on the fact that we all recognize the territorial integrity and sovereignty of every country ... A just peace presupposes that the party that violated territorial integrity — Russia — withdraws its troops from the occupied country.”
— Hans von der Burchard (@vonderburchard) February 18, 2023
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The resolution, which was drafted by Ukraine, passed 141-7, with 32 abstentions including India, and came one day ahead of the first anniversary of the “special military operation.”
Chinese Drones in Russia
China’ peace plan proposal comes amidst reports that the Russian military is negotiating with Chinese drone manufacturer Xi’an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology, for the sale of kamikaze drones.
Chinese drone manufacturer Xi'an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology has reportedly agreed to produce and test 100 ZT-180 prototype drones before delivering them to Russia by April 2023.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 24, 2023
According to Der Spiegel, the Chinese manufacturer has reportedly agreed to manufacture and test 100 ZT-180 prototype drones, and might make the delivery by April 2023.