Neutral China is more beneficial to all sides of conflict – diplomat Yelchenko

Volodymyr Yelchenko, a diplomat and former permanent representative of Ukraine to the UN, shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"I don't think it's realistic to expect China to take our side, the side of the civilized world. For Western countries, the main thing is to cement China's neutrality. A neutral China is much more useful, even in the sense of mediation," he said.

According to Yelchenko, China is one of the world's leaders, a respected, serious country, and a lot depends on its position.

"China's neutrality is the realism that we need to accept and work to ensure that it remains neutral. On the one hand, China depends on Russian natural resources, and on the other hand, it depends on the volume of trade with the Western world. China will never openly confront the West because of its economic dependence – it needs to sell its goods somewhere. Without this, the economy will definitely wither away. On the other hand, to produce them, China needs cheap energy from Russia. That is why it will also never go for an explicit confrontation with Russia. That's why I believe that a neutral position is the most realistic and most attractive for all the poles of this conflict," the diplomat concluded.