According to EU diplomats, China apparently seems willing to participate in possible peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. In Brussels, however, Beijing’s plan has received a mixed response. Yet, the diplomats themselves are also at a dead end. “Welt am Sonntag” reported in advance on Beijing’s interest, citing diplomatic circles that maintain contacts with Chinese government officials.
At the same time, however, the diplomats emphasized that Beijing’s government was only willing to do so if peacekeeping forces were deployed on the basis of a mandate from the United Nations (UN). In Brussels, Beijing’s plan has received a mixed reaction. On the one hand, the inclusion of Global South countries such as China could promote acceptance of foreign troops being stationed to monitor peace.
“But there is also the danger that China primarily wants to spy in Ukraine and would adopt a clearly pro-Russian rather than a neutral position in the event of conflict,” said a senior EU diplomat familiar with the current consultations in Brussels. Negotiations stall. In fact, U.S. military officials and leading European countries have met in recent days to discuss possible security guarantees for Ukraine.
By the end of the week, however, it was clear that the problems were highly complex, said an EU diplomat. This has now also been acknowledged in Washington. Problems also arose regarding the issue of security guarantees: several EU countries consider the massive strengthening of the Ukrainian army to be the best protection even for the postwar period, but many others — including the United States — do not want or cannot afford to pay for it.
The United States only wants to provide indirect guarantees for Ukraine and is only partially willing to secure a possible deployment of European soldiers in Ukraine after a peace agreement. The U.S. president now threatens to withdraw from the process, and once again gave Vladimir Putin a two-week deadline. There could be massive sanctions against Moscow “or massive tariffs or both,” or he, Trump, “would do nothing.”
“It always takes two to tango,” said the U.S. president, who was wearing a cap with the inscription “Trump is right about everything.” However, the Kremlin chief has already indicated that he is not interested in meeting with Ukrainian president Zelensky or pursuing a sustainable peace process. On the contrary, he recently demanded that his troops enforce peace in Ukraine.
