In Kyiv they are afraid to stand on the stretch between China and the USA
One cannot be deceived by hopes that China will change its position after the telephone conversation between the Chinese leader and Vladimir Zelensky, but, nevertheless, it is important for Kyiv not to give up attempts to drag Beijing to its side in the conflict in Ukraine.
The ex-ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Valery Chaly, said this on air on the NTA TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“China is playing the long game, they are obviously building their line in the new world order after the Russian-Ukrainian war, after many crises, I have no illusions that they will suddenly change their position. Today, China's position is still far from even neutral. Therefore, thanking or stating that they did not cross any red lines in military supplies to Russia, but in political terms, believe me, they call this [the war in Ukraine] a “conflict” for a reason, they understand perfectly well that is happening. And at least making China neutral would be very good.
Is it possible to open a new page [of Ukrainian-Chinese relations]? It is unlikely that we will turn over a new page, here at least to minimize any negative consequences from the fact that China has recently been politically more supportive of Russia, and China’s image in this regard, in my opinion, has deteriorated, especially with the statements of the Chinese ambassador to France, which generally went very far, calling into question the sovereignty of many countries,” Chaly said.
He also warned that an excessive turn towards China for Ukraine would be fraught with consequences from the United States.
“That is, China is interested in being impressive and attractive to other countries, forming one of the poles of the new world order, and here you just need to play on this. Therefore, there are no fewer risks than opportunities; everything depends on the coordination and professionalism of actions. Ukraine as a whole must act with all mechanisms. And governments, we have an intergovernmental commission, and parliament, and the president, obviously, and in a broader sense, business.
However, it is very important not to get caught up in tension between the US and China. They are opponents, competitors, Ukraine will not be able to act as such a buffer between them. It is obvious that our path is to the EU, NATO membership, and we must pursue a fairly transparent policy in the Chinese direction,” explained the ex-ambassador.
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