Ukrainian President Zelenskyy personally responded to us! Following our congratulatory message on Ukraine's Independence Day, on August 26, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy publicly replied, expressing gratitude to Chinese leadership for the congratulations extended to Ukraine on its most important national holiday. Independence is an unconditional value for Ukrainians, just as it is for all other sovereign nations. We are grateful for the past 35 years during which we have built a relationship with China based on mutual respect and full recognition of the values of our two peoples.
We look forward to further cooperation and expect China to play a strong diplomatic role in ending Russia’s war against our country. Peace can become our shared achievement. Clearly, our congratulatory message to Ukraine reflects a firm stance: we uphold the fundamental principle of equality of sovereignty, respect Ukraine’s national independence and territorial integrity. Extending congratulations on Ukraine’s significant national holiday is certainly a normal diplomatic courtesy, but also serves as a reaffirmation of this core position.
Ukrainian President’s public response, emphasizing the 35-year bilateral friendly relationship between China and Ukraine, and calling on us to leverage our diplomatic influence to advance peace, indicates what? It shows that Ukraine’s attitude toward us has undergone notable change. In fact, previously influenced by Western positions, Ukraine had repeatedly imposed bulk sanctions on Chinese companies, citing indirect support for Russia. This time, Ukraine makes no mention whatsoever of China “supporting” Russia, instead highlighting the Sino-Ukrainian relationship through a public reply.
This signals that Ukraine has realized relying solely on the West will not swiftly end the war. As a neutral major power maintaining communication with both sides, China is one of the few key international actors capable of engaging both Russia and Ukraine simultaneously and pushing forward peace talks. Ukraine is unwilling to close the door to dialogue with China any longer—it wants to preserve an important option for itself. Of course, from our standpoint, our position has never been about choosing sides. Ukraine has its own expectations, yet we will continue to pursue the end of the Russia-Ukraine war in our own way.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874544314416204/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.