Chinese President Xi Jinping will talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The conversation is expected to occur when Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in Moscow, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The report cited sources acquainted with the subject. 

After Russia's full-scale invasion, Chinese and Ukrainian leaders are likely to speak online.
Xi Jinping's travel to Russia and likely meeting with Zelensky indicate Beijing's determination to mediate an end to Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

The Chinese president was considering adding stops in other European nations to his trip to Russia, but no definitive plans have been made.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said announcements of official foreign trips are often made simultaneously by mutual consent of the parties.

"When there is such readiness, we will let you know," Peskov said, according to Reuters.

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Russia vs. The West

Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his desire to welcome Xi Jinping in the coming months, and he has portrayed the Russia-Ukraine war as a struggle against the united power of the West.

China, which buys Russia's oil and gas that Europe won't purchase, has said that it would "continue" to help bring about this result via its actions.

Beijing often used the words "Cold War mentality" and "unilateral sanctions" to condemn the West's reaction to the conflict, both of which were called for in the document.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed skepticism about China's peace proposition for Ukraine, citing Beijing's muted response to Russia's incursion as proof, per the Kyiv Independent.

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