French President Emmanuel Macron asked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Tuesday to intercede with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to return to the “negotiating table” to discuss the Ukraine conflict, the Elysee said.
Emmanuel Macron “calls on China to contribute to (…) sending messages to President Putin to avoid an escalation and return seriously to the negotiating table,” the French presidency said.
Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron meet in Bali, Indonesia, where the G20 summit, a group of the world’s most industrialized nations, is taking place until tomorrow.
Just this morning, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for an end to the war during the opening of the G20 summit, which brings together the world’s leading economies on the island of Bali.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is largely absent from the biggest gathering of world leaders since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is the first G20 summit since the war broke out in Ukraine on February 24 this year, and the lack of consensus among the participants could be reflected in the final joint declaration, as was the case at the summit of the Association of Nations of the Southeast Asia.( ASEAN), held on Sunday in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
Despite the fact that Ukraine is not part of the G20, President Volodymyr Zelensky was invited by his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, the group’s interim president, to speak via videoconference.
Also regarding the meeting between Macron and Xi, the Xinhua news agency reported that the Chinese leader noted that in recent years, Sino-French relations have maintained a positive development momentum and the two countries have made significant positive progress. in cooperation. .
China’s efforts to modernize will bring new opportunities for all countries in the world, including France, the president stressed.
Macron congratulated Xi on his re-election as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.
The French side hopes to uphold the spirit of mutual respect, equality and reciprocity with the Chinese side, strengthen exchanges at the highest level, and deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade and aviation, Macron stressed.
Source: TSF
