Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, hailed bilateral relations with China, based on "mutual respect, understanding and benefit," in a tweet posted on Monday. The official didn't criticize or dismiss China's contributions thus far, but subtly challenged the Chinese leadership's assertion that it has played a "constructive role" in promoting dialogue.
"We share Beijing's position on the need to find a political solution to the war against Ukraine and call on China as a global power to play an important role in this effort," Kuleba wrote. It was only the second time Kyiv had directly addressed Beijing, after he spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on March 1 and came away with the seemingly overly optimistic conclusion: "China is ready to make efforts to end the war through diplomacy."
