Today's D Brief: Xi, Zelenskyy talk; Cluster-munitions silence; Taliban vs. ISIS; Carlson vs. the brass; And just a bit more.
BEN WATSON and BRADLEY PENISTON | APRIL 26, 2023 11:12 AM ET
THE D BRIEF UKRAINE CHINA RUSSIA NORTH KOREA ISIS AFGHANISTAN
Exactly 61 weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, China’s autocratic leader finally spoke with Ukraine’s elected president by phone on Wednesday. In the call, China’s Xi Jinping reportedly conveyed a shared “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” calling that key pillar of the United Nations charter “the political foundation for China-Ukraine relations,” according to Beijing’s Foreign Ministry. However, China’s readout of the call never once refers to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia has illegally occupied since 2014.
“China stands for peace,” Xi purportedly told Ukraine’s President Volodymir Zelenskyy. “Dialogue is the only way out,” the Chinese leader said, “and no one wins a nuclear war.”
“With rational thinking and voices now on the rise,” Xi said, “it is important to seize the opportunity and build up favorable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis.” He also promised “China will continue to facilitate talks for peace and make its efforts for early ceasefire and restoration of peace,” including sending an envoy to Ukraine “to have in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/04/the-d-brief-april-26-2023/385640/
