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Zelensky invites Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Ukraine, AP reports

Hannah Ritchie

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit Ukraine in an interview with the Associated Press published on Wednesday.

“We are ready to see him here. I want to speak with him. I had contact with him before [the] full-scale war. But during all this year, more than one year, I didn’t have,” Zelensky told the news agency.

Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are close allies and have strengthened economic and political ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year.

Following Xi’s state-visit to Moscow earlier this month, the Chinese and Russian leaders reiterated their alignment across a host of issues but their talks yielded no breakthrough on resolving the Ukraine conflict

China has attempted to position itself as a peace broker on Ukraine, releasing its position on a “political solution” to the conflict with calls for a ceasefire and peace talks.

Zelensky on Bakhmut: Speaking about the months-long battle for the eastern city, Zelensky told the AP that a Ukrainian defeat would spur on Russia’s propaganda effort and embolden Putin to “push” forward more aggressively.

“We are ready to see him here. I want to speak with him. I had contact with him before [the] full-scale war. But during all this year, more than one year, I didn’t have,” Zelensky told the news agency.

Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are close allies and have strengthened economic and political ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year.

Following Xi’s state-visit to Moscow earlier this month, the Chinese and Russian leaders reiterated their alignment across a host of issues but their talks yielded no breakthrough on resolving the Ukraine conflict

China has attempted to position itself as a peace broker on Ukraine, releasing its position on a “political solution” to the conflict with calls for a ceasefire and peace talks.

Zelensky on Bakhmut: Speaking about the months-long battle for the eastern city, Zelensky told the AP that a Ukrainian defeat would spur on Russia’s propaganda effort and embolden Putin to “push” forward more aggressively.

“[Putin would] sell this victory to the West, to his society, to China, to Iran…if he will feel some blood — smell that we are weak — he will push, push, push,” he told the AP.

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