Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a call, after which Chinese news agency, Xinhua, noted on Monday, “China sincerely wants peace in Ukraine”, Newsweek reported. 

Though talks between Kyiv and Beijing touched upon the humanitarian aspect of Russia sending troops into Ukraine, there was a marked lack of reference to what Ukraine officials are calling the ‘Bucha massacre‘. The event, where civilian bodies have been found in mass graves, in a town near Kyiv, has the global community clamouring to condemn Russia’s actions. However, Kremlin has denied involvement, saying the deaths occurred at the hands of Ukrainian Nazis. 

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This is the second publicized talk between the top diplomats of both nations since President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on February 24. Following the call, Kuleba wrote on Twitter “We both share the conviction that ending the war against Ukraine serves common interests of peace, global food security, and international trade”. 

As per Xinhua, China’s foreign minister said, “It is China’s historical and cultural tradition as well as its consistent foreign policy to safeguard peace and oppose war”, adding, ”

On the Ukraine issue, China does not seek geopolitical interests, nor will it watch the event from a safe distance while sitting idle, or add fuel to the fire…the only thing that China wants is peace in Ukraine”. 

When the countries first spoke on March 1, Ukraine had urged Beijing to use its close relationship with Moscow, at which time, the Xi Jinping-led government had said “China is ready to make efforts to end the war through diplomacy”. 

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Since then, China’s stance has not changed regarding Russia’s actions in Ukraine and contrary to most of the world, the Beijing government has been supportive of Moscow, with Wang Yi reminding his counterpart that Russia’s security concerns about the NATO eastward expansion are legitimate.