China’s Xi talks with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy by phone

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping appealed for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in a phone call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warning “there is no winner in a nuclear war,” state media said, in a long-anticipated conversation after Beijing said it wanted to act as peace mediator.

Xi’s government will send a “special representative” to Ukraine for talks about a possible “political settlement,” said a government statement reported by state TV.

China has tried to appear neutral in the war but refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement before the February 2020 invasion saying their governments had a “no limits friendship.”

Xi’s government released a peace proposal in February and called for a cease-fire and talks.