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German Foreign Minister Johan Wadephul has said that his country would welcome China taking the lead role in the Ukraine peace process and bringing an end to the conflict at the earliest. Wadephul, though, accused China of so far shying away from showing interest in such a role despite continuous appeals from Berlin and EU allies.

During an interview that aired on Wednesday, he said, “that there is hardly any nation or government that exerts so much influence on Russia as China, adding, it’s never too late to show interest in ending the conflict.” The German foreign minister is currently in Indonesia as part of his Asia tour that also included a day stop in Japan.

“Nobody can overlook China; It defines its role,” he said. China is an important country with massive political and economic influence and is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. And for a long time now, we've been calling on China to use these opportunities to help ensure the war is ended."

 

This was probably the first time that any Western government has admired and urged China to play its role in ending the conflict in Ukraine. The majority of the EU nations and the global North have looked at China merely through the prism of suspicion and as a backer of Russia in the war against Ukraine.

Wadephul said that he raised the Ukraine peace issue with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and told him that he would be "very pleased if this appeal was heard in Beijing." He went on to say, "There's a good chance that this is a step towards security and peace.”

"But now everyone's waiting to see whether Vladimir Putin is genuinely ready to preside over an end to this war. Unfortunately, things are still looking very different on the battlefield."

"There are obvious doubts, because President Putin has not yet said 'yes' to negotiations. President Zelenskyy said he is ready to hold a bilateral meeting with Putin and then a trilateral meeting with President Trump. Where is the 'yes' from Putin?"

 

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