Poland on Monday said that Beijing is the only global actor with sufficient leverage over Moscow to bring about a ceasefire in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
"I personally believe that China is the only country that could actually force a ceasefire in this war," Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the Warsaw Forum.
“Russia is now so dependent on China that this is a very powerful lever. The question, of course, is whether they would use it,” he said.
He said Chinese officials had also conveyed their support for a ceasefire in Ukraine but urged Beijing to translate words into action.
'Europe must be feared’
For his part, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot emphasised that the war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed Europe’s security outlook, pushing the continent to prepare for a future where it can no longer rely exclusively on outside powers.
“We stand ready to take our own security into our own hands. And I think this is something that many around the world have noticed and heard,” he said.
He also condemned Moscow’s recent actions, describing them as “provocations that are unacceptable.”
He said they were designed both to “hide the failure of Russia on the front line” and to “discourage European countries from building up support to Ukraine.”
“But this has been super counterproductive,” Barrot stressed, “because it has generated even greater support for Ukraine among Europeans.”
Germany, France and Poland issued a joint demand for Russia to end "hostile acts" against NATO allies, reaffirming their commitment to defending peace and warning that airspace violations by Russian forces could trigger dangerous escalation.
Russia has denied the allegations and called them “Russophobic.”
