Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he believes that US President Donald Trump could help change Chinese President Xi Jinping’s stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“I think that President Trump can change the attitude of Xi Jinping to this war, because China, we don’t feel that China wants to finish this war,” Zelenskiy told Fox News’ “Special Report” after meeting Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The US has highlighted China and India as contributors to the Russia-Ukraine war due to their ongoing purchases of oil from Moscow.
Sources told Reuters last week that Trump urged European Union officials to impose 100% tariffs on China as a deterrent to purchasing Russian oil. He called for similarly expansive tariffs on India.
The U.S. request, if heeded, would result in a change of strategy for the EU, which has preferred to isolate Russia with sanctions rather than tariffs.
Despite U.S. frustration with New Delhi’s and Beijing’s contribution to the conflict through energy purchases, Zelenskiy on Tuesday said he believes that India is “mostly” with Ukraine.
Acknowledging concern about Russian energy supplies, he said he believes Trump and European allies would work to ensure a closer, stronger relationship with India.
“I think we have to do everything not to withdraw Indians and they will change their attitude to Russian energy sector,” Zelenskiy said. “With China, it’s more difficult because…for today, it’s not in their interests not to support Russia.”
A Chinese embassy spokesperson denied on Tuesday that Beijing was a party to the ongoing conflict, stating that China had not “exploited the situation for gain.”
“Since the first day of the crisis, China has maintained an objective and just stance, and has been promoting peace and talks,” spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement. “We call on all relevant parties to adhere to the three principles — no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting, and no fanning of the flames — so as to de-escalate the situation and create conditions for a political settlement.”
The Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has been frustrated at his inability to convince Russia and Ukraine to reach an end to their war, more than three years after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
That frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin was made clear on Tuesday when Trump said he believes that Kyiv -with European support – could win all of its territory back from Moscow.
“Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win. This is not distinguishing Russia,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that Putin and Russia were in “big economic trouble.”
Zelenskiy called the comments surprising and said it was a positive signal of U.S. support until the end of the conflict.
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