The situation of the war between Russia and Ukraine has changed, and when Russia mentions peace talks, Putin has appointed a mediator, while Zelensky is waiting for China to help, who is the mediator designated by Putin?
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has dragged on for more than two years, is still ongoing, and just as the situation is deadlocked, the Russian side recently mentioned peace talks again, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a mediator. A few days ago, Putin mentioned in a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is on a working visit to Moscow, that "we have never refused to settle disputes peacefully." And we've always tended to do that. Obviously, in other words, the Russian side has never rejected peace talks. Moreover, Putin also said that if a new round of negotiations is necessary, he will ask Lukashenko to act as a mediator. In this regard, Lukashenko's attitude is to support the position of the Russian side on this issue.
Interestingly, regarding the peace talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also had a new statement, which even surprised the outside world, his original words were: Moscow and Kiev can start peace negotiations even if the 1991 Ukrainian border is not restored, and now they need to talk about the Russian-Ukrainian border in 2022. But before that, Zelensky's attitude was that it was impossible to start peace talks unless Russian troops retreated beyond the borders of Ukraine in 1991. Now that Russia and Ukraine are mentioning the issue of peace talks from time to time, the outside world has to feel that there may be new changes in the situation of this Russia-Ukraine war. Of course, if the two sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict can really move towards the negotiating table, this is also what the international community is generally looking forward to.
It is worth mentioning that at the same time that Putin appointed Lukashenko as a mediator, Zelensky's eyes were on China. Recently, Zelensky delivered a video speech, highly affirming China's role in restoring peace in Ukraine, and said that he is seeking China's support for the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland. Zelensky claimed that "I believe that holding a summit in Switzerland can pave the way for a just peace in Ukraine, and the positive role of China can certainly accelerate our progress on this path". However, Russia was not invited to the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland. In this regard, the attitude of the Russian side is also very clear, although Moscow has no objection to negotiations to end the conflict, it will never participate in the talks in Switzerland, because Switzerland has abandoned its neutrality due to its position in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. To put it simply, Russia obviously does not believe that the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland can really discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict from a fair and just position, and in Russia's view, the summit is more like a "denunciation" of Russia, which will only lead to an escalation of the conflict.
China is not a party to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the reason why Zelensky wants China to help so much is obviously based on trust in the mainland. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China has always stood firm in its position, stood on the side of peace and justice, and made various efforts to promote peace talks, which is obvious to the international community. In February last year, China issued the "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis", which put forward 12 important principles, including respecting the sovereignty of all countries, abandoning the Cold War mentality, ceasefire and ending hostilities, and initiating peace talks. In addition, China has also released a Concept Paper on the Global Security Initiative, which also puts forward several suggestions for dialogue, consultation and political settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, promoting equal rights, equal rules and equal opportunities for all countries, attaching importance to the legitimate concerns of all countries, and persisting in resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation and peaceful means. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed out that the peace talks were not based on the peace plan proposed by Ukraine, and he believed that the peace plan proposed by China was more reasonable.