While an American congressional delegation was in Taiwan trying to shore up our relations in the region, French President Emmanuel Macron was taking a different approach. Macron was in Beijing, meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was pressing China to try to “talk some sense into” Vladimir Putin and convince the Russians to come to the negotiating table and end the hostilities in Ukraine. But even if Xi was willing to consider the idea, the Kremlin appeared to preemptively veto any such plans. Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told local journalists that “there are no prospects for a political settlement.” In other words, there is still no sign of an offramp in the invasion that would allow Putin to withdraw and return the region to any sort of normality. (Business Insider)

The Kremlin on Thursday said there were “no prospects” for China to play the role of mediator in Moscow’s unprovoked war against Ukraine at present, as French President Emmanuel Macron met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and urged him to “bring Russia to its senses.”

“Undoubtedly, China has a very effective and commanding potential for mediation,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, per the Moscow Times. “But the situation with Ukraine is complex, so far there are no prospects for a political settlement.”

Peskov said there were “no other ways” forward for Russia aside from continuing its offensive in Ukraine, signaling that Moscow has no interest in negotiations in the foreseeable future.

Macron has tried to position himself as the potential peacemaker in the Ukrainian invasion from the beginning. He has made more trips between Moscow, Kyiv and Brussels than nearly any other leader with few details of his discussions being made public. You really can’t fault him for trying, but he’s obviously been ineffectual thus far.

That’s not to say that China wasn’t receptive to the idea, at least in public. After their meeting, Xi Jinping publicly called for peace talks to resume “as soon as possible.” But he was saying that at the same time that he was reportedly sending military aid to the Russians, so we probably shouldn’t put too much stock into what he says in public.

Xi has also failed to follow up on Zelensky’s repeated invitations to meet with him to discuss a peace plan. His spokesmen continue to insist that the Chinese president plans to go to Ukraine “when the time is right,” but there has been no indication of any concrete plans to do that. Nor should we expect much in the way of mediation. The West is backing Ukraine and China is obviously siding with Russia while not being willing to actively participate in the war militarily.

And that support has been far more than simply rhetorical. Keep in mind that China has been very effective in thwarting western sanctions on Russia by continuing to purchase oil and natural gas from Moscow. Those actions have been one of the larger drivers in preventing Russia’s economy from imploding and allowed Putin to be able to afford the ongoing war. There has been no such deal offered to Ukraine, though Beijing did encourage an end to the grain embargo last year.

There is only one person who can bring the war to a halt and that’s Vladimir Putin. And despite some of his own people believing that he’s a “dead man walking,” there are no signs of him relenting in this quest. Meanwhile, China is able to profit from the entire situation without having to get its hands dirty.