Brazil and China are calling for an international peace conference recognized by both Russia and Ukraine to discuss proposals to deescalate the war.
Following a meeting on Thursday between China’s Foreign Affairs Meeting Wang Yi and Brazil’s Celso Amorim, chief adviser to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, both countries released a statement outlining “common understandings” on a path to resolving the Russia-Ukraine crisis. It is the first time China signs a joint declaration with another country about the war.
“China and Brazil support an international peace conference held at a proper time that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties as well as fair discussion of all peace plans,” read the joint-statement signed in Beijing, which repeats language used by President Xi Jinping in previous occasions.
Beijing and Brasilia are also calling for the expansion of humanitarian assistance and condemning the potential use of weapons of mass destruction in the conflict.
Switzerland has agreed to organize next month an international conference to discuss the war after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the country in January. Russia, however, wasn’t invited to the summit and many countries are expected to skip it, including Brazil and China. President Joe Biden is also set to miss the gathering because it conflicts with a campaign fundraiser in California he’s set to attend alongside George Clooney, Julia Roberts and other stars.
China last week hosted Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Beijing, the first foreign visit after his reelection, amid US pressure to curtail support that’s helping Moscow continue its war in Ukraine.
Bloomberg
Ukrainian firefighters put out a fire in food warehouse after Russian missile strike to Odesa.Photographer: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP/Getty Images
