Macron and Xi call for peace negotiations and reject the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine

China

French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping called Thursday for peace negotiations “as soon as possible” to end the conflict in Ukraine, stressing their refusal to use nuclear weapons.

Macron stressed the necessity of “resuming talks as soon as possible to build a lasting peace,” while Xi considered that “nuclear weapons cannot be used,” condemning any “attack targeting civilians,” in joint statements they made after a bilateral meeting in Beijing.

On Thursday, during a state visit in Beijing to his Chinese counterpart, the French president said he was counting on him to “bring Russia back to its senses.”

“I know I can count on you to bring Russia to its senses, and everyone to the negotiating table,” Macron added during an official bilateral meeting with Xi.

French President Macron affirmed his country’s opposition to the deployment of nuclear weapons outside the territories of the countries that possess them, stressing the need to prevent their use in the current conflict in Ukraine.

Macron said in a press conference after his meeting with the Chinese president in Beijing today, Thursday: “France shares China’s desire to exclude nuclear weapons from this conflict, and this means complying with international treaties in this regard, and in no way should nuclear weapons be deployed outside the countries that possess them.” particularly in Europe.”

For his part, the Chinese president hailed during the bilateral meeting the relations with France in a world undergoing “profound historical change.” “The world is now witnessing a profound historical change,” Xi said.

The Chinese president stressed that relations between Paris and Beijing, however, witnessed “positive and steady development”.

On Thursday afternoon, Macron held a one-on-one meeting with his Chinese counterpart. They were joined by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in the framework of a tripartite meeting during which they want to convey Europe’s voice on the conflict in Ukraine that has been going on for more than a year.

Macron considered that China plays an important role in building the world. Macron wrote a tweet before the start of the talks with the Chinese president: “I am convinced that China has an important role in building the world. We will also discuss with President Xi Jinping issues related to businesses, climate, biodiversity and food security.”

It should be noted that Macron arrived in China, on Wednesday, for a visit that ends on Friday. This is the French president’s first trip to China in 3 and a half years, as he last visited Beijing in the fall of 2019 during his first term as president.

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