France Seeking ‘Clear Message’ from China to Russia over Ukraine War

 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, shakes hands with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, left, after a joint press conference at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, shakes hands with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, left, after a joint press conference at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP)
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France Seeking ‘Clear Message’ from China to Russia over Ukraine War

 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, shakes hands with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, left, after a joint press conference at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, shakes hands with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, left, after a joint press conference at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP)

France's top diplomat said Monday that Paris expects China to send "clear messages" to its close partner Russia over its war in Ukraine, after meetings with his counterpart in Beijing.

France and China have sought to strengthen ties in recent years and, during meetings in Paris in February, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told President Emmanuel Macron that Beijing appreciated his country's "independent" stance.

But Paris has also sought to press Beijing on its close ties with Moscow, which have only grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine.

While China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, it has been criticized for refusing to condemn Moscow for its offensive.

Paris has, in contrast, become one of Kyiv's firmest backers, with Macron in February even refusing to rule out putting troops on the ground in Ukraine.

And Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Monday it wanted "China to send very clear messages to Russia" over its war in Ukraine.

"We are convinced that there will be no lasting peace if it is not negotiated with the Ukrainians," he told a press conference in Beijing, speaking alongside his Chinese counterpart Wang.

"There will be no security for Europeans if there is no peace in accordance with international law," he continued.

"It is an essential issue for us, which is why France is determined to maintain a close dialogue with China," he said.

And Beijing, he said, could play a "key role" in ensuring respect for international law is maintained.

Sejourne's visit is the second to China by a French foreign minister in less than six months, following a trip by his predecessor, Catherine Colonna, in November.

Macron also visited last April, receiving a rock star welcome at a university in southern China from hundreds of screaming students and fans.

But he faced accusations of cozying up to Beijing and sparked controversy by saying Europe shouldn't be a "follower" of the United States in the event of conflict with China over Taiwan.

The top diplomat's visit this week comes as part of events marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China.

He will later in the day take part in the launch of the "Versailles and the Forbidden City" exhibition, where around sixty works of art and valuables from the palace will be open to the public until the end of June.

'Derisking' not 'decoupling'

And France's efforts to improve ties with Beijing come as the EU seeks to shield itself from excessive reliance on China.

That "derisking" has emerged in recent months as a core pillar of the European bloc's economic policy towards China, becoming necessary after the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The term contrasts with the more drastic approach known as "decoupling" -- pursued by some policymakers in the United States who aim to isolate China or cut all commercial ties with the country.

But the EU increasingly views China as a "partner" but also as "an economic competitor and systemic rival", a report by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said last month.

And in Beijing on Monday, Sejourne said decoupling was not on the cards.

But, he said, an "economic rebalancing" was needed to ensure trade is "healthy and sustainable".

Foreign Minister Wang, in turn, said he "appreciates" Sejourne's rejection of decoupling.

"It is not possible to decouple from China, and decoupling from China is the biggest risk," Wang said.

"I believe that it has been proved, and will continue to prove, that China is an opportunity and not a risk for Europe. Both sides are partners and not rivals," he said.



Trump Says he and Putin Have Agreed to Begin Negotiations on Ending War

FILE – Then-US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE – Then-US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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Trump Says he and Putin Have Agreed to Begin Negotiations on Ending War

FILE – Then-US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE – Then-US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Donald Trump upended three years of US policy toward Ukraine on Wednesday, saying that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a dramatic prisoner swap.

Trump said in a social media post that he and Putin held a lengthy phone call during which they committed to “work together, very closely” to bring the conflict to an end and would meet in person, including perhaps in each other's countries.
It was unclear how closely Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be involved. Although Trump held a phone call with him Wednesday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said, characterizing it as a "good conversation," The Associated Press reported.
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special Russia-Ukraine envoy, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, will all be in Germany later this week for the annual Munich Security Conference, which Zelenskyy will also attend.
However, in a blow to Ukraine's aspirations, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels that NATO membership was not realistic for Ukraine and said that any security guarantees for the country would have to be born by European countries.
The Biden administration had joined other NATO members since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in vowing that membership in the alliance was “inevitable.”
And Trump's announcement appeared to dismantle the Biden-era mantra that Kyiv would be a full participant in any decisions made. “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Biden and his top national security aides said repeatedly.
Wednesday's Trump-Putin call and resulting policy sea change, followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention in return for convicted Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik.
“We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Trump said in a social media post disclosing details about the call. "But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.
Trump said they also “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” and would be alerting Zelenskyy to their conversation. He appointed Rubio, CIA director John Ratcliffe, national security advisor Michael Waltz, and his special Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff to lead those talks.
White House officials later declined to clarify whether Ukraine would be a party to the U.S. negotiations with Russia.
But, they described the prisoner swap as evidence of a diplomatic thaw that could advance negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine.
Fogel, an American history teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, was arrested in August 2021 for possession of marijuana and was serving a 14-year prison sentence. He had been left out of previous prisoner swaps with Russia that were negotiated by the Biden administration.
Vinnik — the other person involved, according to two US officials — was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the US on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He is currently in custody in California awaiting transport to return to Russia, the officials said. The Kremlin confirmed that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Fogel but refused to identify him until he arrives in Russia.
Trump had welcomed Fogel at the White House on Tuesday evening after his return to US soil on Witkoff's personal plane. On Wednesday, Trump declined to say if he spoke with Putin about Fogel and didn't say what the United States had provided in exchange for Fogel’s release.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Fogel's release could help anchor a peace deal on Ukraine, saying: “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”
The Kremlin was more cautious, but it also noted that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust.