Kremlin says China's Ukraine peace plan should be studied in detail

[February 27, 2023]  MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that a Chinese peace plan on Ukraine that urges both sides to agree to a gradual de-escalation and warns against the use of nuclear weapons should be analysed in detail, taking the interests of all sides into account.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a news conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan September 16, 2022. Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via REUTERS

China, which declared a "no limits" alliance with Russia shortly before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine a year ago, called for a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine on Friday, touting its own peace plan.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any such initiatives that might bring peace closer were worthy of attention.

"We are paying a great deal of attention to the plan of our Chinese friends," Peskov told reporters on Monday. "Of course, the details need to be painstakingly analysed taking into account the interests of all the different sides. This is a very long and intense process."

He said Russia was continuing to prosecute what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, and for now didn't see any signs suggesting a peaceful resolution could be achieved.

Peskov declined to comment on a U.S. media report that China was considering transferring drones to Russia.

Beijing has refused to condemn Russia's actions, most recently at a weekend meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin Liffey/Andrew Osborn)

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