China says it did not propose to EU leaders to leave occupied Ukrainian territories with Russia

China says it has not offered to retain the occupied Ukrainian territories for Russia. The country's Foreign Ministry denied the allegations of The Wall Street Journal.

Source. CNN writes about it.

Earlier, this American publication claimed that the head of the Chinese delegation, Li Hui, during a European tour, put forward tough demands to European officials: Russia should retain the occupied territories as a result of a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine.

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has publicly stated that he has established contacts with all parties and none of them have indicated that Special Representative Li Hui made the statements reported by the Wall Street Journal," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

The ministry also said that Hui had detailed China's position to European officials and "strengthened the international consensus" during a meeting with the parties on the war in Ukraine.

Li Hui came to Kyiv, where he was told that there would be no negotiations with Russia as long as Russian troops occupied Ukrainian territory. The Chinese special envoy was also made to understand that "there will be no territorial compromises," the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, told Interfax-Ukraine.

The Chinese envoy also visited Warsaw, Berlin, Paris, and Brussels. The diplomat and former ambassador to Moscow called for a speedy end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and to prevent its escalation.

However, in the EU, Hui's ideas were met with little enthusiasm, according to WSJ sources. "We explained that freezing the conflict is not in the interest of the international community unless there is a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine," a diplomat who spoke with Li told the newspaper.

He added that the Chinese envoy was made to understand that "it is impossible to divide Europe and America" and that European support for Ukraine will continue.

As the WSJ interlocutors explained, China hopes that Russia will not lose the war and will not have to resort to nuclear weapons. The European Union doubts that Beijing can be an impartial mediator in the negotiations, given its close ties with Moscow, the sources said. Although the EU is not yet ready to completely reject China's peace initiatives.

Background. As a reminder, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed that China did not offer to give up the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia.