President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi expects a conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the nearest future. This was reported by New York Times with a reference to a high-ranking official, Assistant of the Head of Government.
"China has to put more efforts in ending this war," Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak said to British research organization.
An unnamed Ukrainian government spokesman said Volodymyr Zelensky wanted to talk to Xi Jinping and that it would "play a constructive role" in de-escalation contribution. However, he did not mention whether conversation had already been arranged.
US President Joe Biden has spoken with Xi recently. He has warned Xi Jinping about the consequences of Russia's support. Jinping said that both countries should not only direct their relations in the right way but also take a part of international responsibility and work for peace and tranquility in the entire world.
Financial Times reported earlier that Russia had asked China for military assistance in order to continue the invasion to Ukraine. FT also claims that the United States has informed its allies in Europe and Asia that China has "shown readiness" to provide military support to Russia and its invasion to Ukraine. This information was confirmed by US officials who added that Washington would try to persuade Beijing not to interfere on Russia's side.
On March 14, a seven-hour meeting between Yang Jiechi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan took place in Rome.
"We have made it very clear to Beijing, publicly and privately, that such support [of Russia's aggression] will have consequences," said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Yang Jiechi, in turn, said that the situation in Ukraine has reached the scale that China would not like to see.