Ukraine War: Chinese Prez Xi Jinping yet to talk to Zelensky

Xi has spoken to at least eight world leaders in the month since the invasion, in attempt to stress that its "stands for peace."

He has spoken to Vladimir Putin and encouraged him to initiate peace process, and offered to work with France and Germany to promote talks. 

The Chinese president has conveyed to US President Joe Biden that it is in favour of peace.

Bloomberg reported that China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular news briefing that China had "smooth communications" on the Ukraine issue when he was asked why Xi hadn't spoken with Zelensky. "China supports all parties to uphold the concept of indivisibility of security," Wang said.

Ukraine is waiting for an outreach by China amid the war as Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak on Tuesday called for an exchange with Xi sometime "very soon", according to the report.

On February 4, Xi had declared a "no limits" partnership with Putin and must be reluctant to speak with the Russian leader's wartime rival so soon, the report said.

The silence between Xi and Zelensky raises questions over China's commitment to mediation.

"China can only advise Russia to try to end the conflict in a dignified manner to avoid the last thing Beijing wants: the collapse of Putin's regime and the emergence of a pro-Western government," said Chen Shih-Min, an associate professor specializing in international security at National Taiwan University.

"The Chinese side supports the Russian side in solving the issue through negotiation," Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has said China will carry out mediation "when needed". Last week, when China announced $1.6 million in aid, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Friday "Russia is bombing us. This is absolutely frivolous -- undignified and unworthy of a great nation."