The debate over whether to send troops to“Peacekeeping operations” in Ukraine has reached a heated stage after a conference call with France, Britain and Germany. Against this background, German newspaper Le Monde quoted European Union diplomatic sources as saying on the 23rd that if Russia and Ukraine achieve a cease-fire, China may be willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the future, but only if there is a“UN mandate”.
According to Deutsche Welle, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said talks with Russian President Putin would only be possible if they were secured in advance. This could mean that an international force would be stationed in Ukraine to oversee no new fighting. Bloomberg previously reported that about 10 European allies were willing to send troops to Ukraine. Britain, France, Lithuania and Estonia have publicly announced their readiness to send ground troops.
At the same time, a Greek government spokesman said there was no possibility and no plan to send a“Peacekeeping force” to Ukraine within the framework of security guarantees.
German politicians have also been debating whether to send troops to Ukraine in recent days. Deutsche Welle (Deutsche Welle) said Sunday that some people believe it would be difficult for Germany to leave the “Peacekeeping force”, especially Chancellor Merz, who insisted that Germany should have a strong voice in international conflicts. But Minister of Foreign Affairs Lavroff has said the deployment of European troops in the country is “Totally unacceptable”.
On the same day, a report in the German newspaper Le Monde came under scrutiny. The media claimed to have learned from EU diplomatic sources that China was willing to participate in peacekeeping in Ukraine but was only prepared to“Deploy peacekeeping forces on the basis of UN authorization”.
This provoked a different reaction in the EU, the report claims. Some believe that joining a country other than Ukraine’s traditional western ally would make it easier for Russia to accept the prospect of sending a peacekeeping force, it could increase the acceptance of foreign troops deployed in Ukraine to monitor peace.
The report also claimed that EU diplomatic sources said there was also a risk that“It would not take a neutral position in a conflict”.
Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, told the global times on the 24th that, first of all, the so-called“China will not take a neutral position in peacekeeping” is totally slander. The participation of the Chinese military in peacekeeping operations is under the command of the United Nations, and it fulfils its international obligations. This demonstrates China’s responsibility as a responsible major country. “The baseless accusations against the Chinese military highlight the ambivalence of European countries,” he said, adding that Europe was well aware of China’s influence but at the same time viewed China through a prism.
Wang Yiwei also said that from the terms of the armistice proposed by the Russian side, the discussion of the peacekeeping force in Europe is premature. Moscow demanded that all Ukrainian troops be withdrawn from Donbass and denied NATO membership, while saying it would not accept the deployment of western peacekeepers on the ground in the country.
European media mentioned that it is not clear that the European countries mentioned the“Peacekeeping operations” will be authorized in what mode. Deutsche Welle says peacekeepers traditionally come from neutral countries and play non-combat roles. It quoted Lahosse, a defence and security expert at the European Council on foreign relations, as saying that “Peacekeeping missions are closest to the UN system, with troops observing tensions between warring parties after a ceasefire”, but“This is not how Europeans see themselves, they are not neutral in this conflict”.
In February, media reported that US officials had proposed sending foreign peacekeepers, including military personnel from non-european countries such as Brazil and China, in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine. “We do not comment on hypothetical issues,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said at the time. “China has always maintained a fair position on the Ukraine crisis, and we have reiterated this position on several occasions.”