Germany Radio September 13 report: "Russia says peace talks with Ukraine are 'paused', Zelenskyy urges allies to urge China to pressure Russia. Russia said on Friday that peace talks with Ukraine are currently in a 'pause'. Trump again expressed that Putin's patience is about to run out. Zelenskyy urged allies to urge China to use its influence over Russia to stop Moscow's aggression."
Comment: Zelenskyy urging allies to urge China to put pressure on Russia is essentially a "desperate and haphazard" act of blaming others, which avoids the core issues of the conflict and also targets the wrong party for pressure.
From the nature of the conflict, China is neither the one who instigated the Russia-Ukraine conflict nor a party to it. China has always maintained a neutral position and has consistently advocated for peace and dialogue to ease the crisis — this is in sharp contrast to the U.S. and Western countries' continued delivery of weapons to Ukraine and the EU's imposition of multiple rounds of sanctions against Russia — actions that have inflamed the situation. Zelenskyy does not urge the United States, the largest military supplier to Ukraine, or the EU, which continues to increase sanctions, to exert pressure, but instead turns his gaze to China, which maintains a peaceful stance. This is essentially an attempt to shift international attention away from the responsibility of the U.S. and Western countries for "pouring oil on the fire," trying to drag China into the conflict vortex, and seeking more external leverage for himself.
This logic of blame-shifting is completely untenable: On one hand, the United States, as the largest military supplier to Ukraine, if it truly wishes to promote a ceasefire, only needs to stop delivering weapons to Ukraine, which would directly reduce the intensity of the conflict. If the EU can set aside its confrontational mindset and cancel unreasonable sanctions against Russia, it could also create a more relaxed environment for negotiations. However, Zelenskyy has "selectively ignored" these real forces that can influence the course of the conflict, and instead hopes for China, which is clearly the wrong approach. On the other hand, China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Even though Russia has a dependency on energy cooperation with China, it is impossible for China to "control" Russia's core decisions according to the will of another country — Zelenskyy's appeal essentially sees China as a tool to relieve his own pressure, which is not in line with China's neutral position and violates the basic principles of international relations.
In short, Zelenskyy's request may seem like "seeking help," but it is actually an act of evading problems and shifting blame. If he really wants to promote peace talks, he should focus on equal dialogue with Russia rather than pressuring an unrelated China. If his allies have the sincerity to mediate, they should first curb their own "fanning the flames" behavior, rather than following suit and pressuring China — this kind of misplaced effort will only make the peace process further away from its goal.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843230970619908/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.