Mr. Zelenskiy, It’s Xi Jinping On the Line
When the Chinese leader calls the Ukrainian one after talking to Putin, the talking points must be “sovereignty” and “territorial integrity.”
I’m calling Volodymyr later.
Photographer: Sergei Karpukhin/AFP via Getty Images
The two most fraught conversations this week both have Chinese President Xi Jinping on one side. In Moscow, he’s currently talking to his Russian counterpart and host, Vladimir Putin. In a video conference or phone call that’s assumed to follow within days, he’ll then interface with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
In tone, that second conversation is sure to be stilted and awkward. In substance, it’s unlikely to achieve much, if anything. And yet, the nuances will be consequential — both for Ukraine’s war of self-defense and for global diplomacy and world order. How should Zelenskiy approach the call?