Macron announces that he will visit China in April and asks Beijing to “put pressure on Russia” to end the war

Follow live the latest news about the war in Ukraine

25 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –

French President Emmanuel Macron announced this Saturday that he will visit China “at the beginning of April” after asking Beijing to try to convince Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

The president has asked the Chinese authorities, who have presented a peace initiative to end the conflict, to exert “pressure” on Moscow to stop “Russian aggression and build peace,” according to statements made at an agricultural forum collected by ‘Le Figaro’.

“Peace will only be possible through the end of Russian aggression, its withdrawal of troops and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Ukrainian people,” added the president.

The Chinese peace initiative was this past Friday the object of skepticism by the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, who actually considers it as a mere “proposal”.

Zelensky recalled that China is a country close to Russia that has criticized international sanctions against Moscow, although he welcomed the fact that Beijing — it should be noted that the Chinese government has denounced Russian territorial aggression — is finally talking about the conflict in Ukraine.