MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2022) French President Emmanuel Macron has asked his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate in Ukraine and return to the negotiating table with Kiev during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing a French official.
The G20 summit is taking place on the Indonesian island of Bali from November 15-16.
According to the official, China's position towards Russia on the conflict in Ukraine is becoming more balanced and constructive.
Macron also intends to visit China when COVID-19 restrictions allow, the source added.
In late September, Putin said that Moscow was still open to talks with Kiev and called on Ukraine to stop the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in turn, stated that Kiev was ready for dialogue with Moscow, but only if another president came to power in Russia, a demand he later dropped.
Earlier this month, Zelenskyy laid out the conditions for peace negotiations with Russia, demanding restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, respect for the UN Charter, "compensation for all damages caused by the war," and guarantees that the conflict "will not happen again," among others.
