The White House is seeking to warn against attempts by China to present next week’s meeting between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin as a peacekeeping mission, suggesting that any framework offered by Beijing would be “one-sided and reflect only the Russian point of view”.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said China’s proposal could include some kind of ceasefire, which he said would simply be a way for Russia to regroup before retaliating.
“Now the ceasefire is effectively a ratification of the Russian conquest,” he said.
“Russia can only use the ceasefire to further strengthen its position in Ukraine, to rebuild, retool and upgrade its forces so that they can resume attacks on Ukraine at any time they choose,” Kirby added.
China in particular has published a document calling for a political settlement, but US officials have treated such proposals with deep skepticism.
“We do not see this as a step towards a just and lasting peace,” Kirby said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. remains concerned that China may be considering lethal military aid to Russia, but “sees no indication” that such a decision has been made, Kirby said.
