China’s Ukraine Peace Plan: ‘Platform to Start Process of Political Settlement of Ukraine Conflict’

©AFP 2023 / GENYA SAVILOV

Although Сhina’s 12-point plan on Ukraine is not a road map, it may help bring Moscow and Beijing to the negotiating table, journalist and political analyst KJ Noh said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed during his phone talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky this week that Beijing’s “core position” on the conflict in Ukraine is to “promote peace and talks.”

China’s Foreign Ministry, in turn, announced after the talks that it would send an envoy to Ukraine and other countries to help conduct “in-depth communication” with all parties to achieve a political settlement.

“This person will essentially be engaging in shuttle diplomacy between the parties. Clearly, Russia and the Ukraine are not on speaking terms, but the Chinese envoy will go back and forth and they will hopefully build the conditions for (possible) future negotiations,” Noh told Sputnik.

Touching upon Beijing’s 12­-point peace plan on Ukraine, he called it “pretty interesting.”

“I mean, it's essentially China's position. It's not a road map […], but it has some basic principles that come after those of the nonaligned movement, you know, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty and then, you know, call for peace and cessation of hostilities,” the analyst noted, referring to the document as a “mixed bag.”

Noh argued that the plan can be used as “a platform to start this process of moving towards a political settlement” and that “the timing is right.”

“I think it's pretty clear that Ukraine, […] despite what the neocons want, is not going to be able to sustain this war in any meaningful fashion,” he added in an apparent nod to Russia’s special military operation.

According to the analyst, “there are a variety of environmental factors that create the possibility for some meaningful negotiation” between Moscow and Kiev. The remarks come a few days after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the Xi-Zelensky talks, saying that Moscow notes Beijing's readiness to establish a negotiation process to settle the conflict in Ukraine.

According to the Russian diplomat, Kiev is still rejecting "any sensible initiatives aimed at a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," posing ultimatums with "deliberately unrealistic demands."

"The Ukrainian authorities and their Western curators have already demonstrated their ability to wind up peaceful initiatives ... Thus any calls for peace are unlikely to be adequately received by puppets controlled from Washington," Zakharova added.

This followed Beijing unveiling a 12-point document titled "China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis," promoting, among other things, respect of the sovereignty of all countries, the cessation of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.

The Russian Foreign Ministry responded by saying that Russia values China's sincere desire to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. The Kremlin has repeatedly emphasized its readiness to negotiate, while the government in Kiev has ruled out any talks as long as Vladimir Putin remains president of Russia.

For more fascinating commentary on the issue, check out our Sputnik radio show Final Countdown.

Russian Forces Discover Underground Soledar Arms Depot Retreating Ukrainians Failed to Destroy

The Russian Armed Forces' taking of Soledar helped cut off the Ukrainian military’s supply route between Seversk and Artemovsk and advance on the latter from the north.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine failed in its efforts to blow up underground warehouses with Soviet­-made weapons in the salt mines near Soledar before leaving the town, an unnamed Russian soldier told Sputnik.

He said that the depots were located in the nearby village of Paraskoviyevka, and that Ukrainian troops planted incendiary explosives at the warehouses to completely destroy the facilities.

However, the incendiary bombs were connected incorrectly, which is why there were no explosions in the warehouses.

“They made a mistake when connecting the bombs, so there was only a blast on the surface, with the depots themselves remaining intact,” he said, referring to 4.5 tons of TNT that sappers detected in the salt mines.

The soldier also said that a lot of small arms and ammunition are still in place in the depots.

"There are 292,000 boxes with the PPShs, [the most common Soviet submachine gun of the Second World War]. Each box contains ten such small arm pieces, so you can imagine the volumes [of weaponry], given that there were other types of small arms at the warehouses,” he added.

Liberation of Soledar

In January, Russia's Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced the complete liberation of Soledar located between the towns of Seversk and Artemovsk, which came as part of Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine.

The MoD stressed at the time that the capture of the strategic settlement would make it possible to cut off supply routes used by Ukrainian forces in Artemovsk, which was renamed Bakhmut by Ukraine's post-coup government in 2016.

“The liberation of the settlement of Soledar, important for the continuation of successful offensive operations in the Donetsk region, was completed on the evening of January 12," MoD spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing at the time. He added that the liberation of Soledar will allow Russian forces to block Ukrainian troops in the nearby area and pocket them in a cauldron.

In the latest developments, heavy fighting is underway in the western parts of Artemovsk, with Russian forces managing to capture four quarters on Sunday, according to Konashenkov.

“Units of the Russian airborne troops pinned down the enemy on the northern and southern outskirts of the town. Strikes by the army aviation, as well as rocket and artillery units helped defeat Ukrainian forces near the settlements of Bogdanovka and Artemovskoye,” he pointed out.

Drone rigged with C4 explosives downed in Zaporozhye Region

Russian forces downed a drone equipped with a container for delivery of C4 explosives near Energodar, where the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is located, regional law enforcement agencies told reporters Sunday.

"Today, Russian Armed Forces detected and eliminated an enemy, drone, equipped with a container for delivery of C4 explosives, shipped to Ukraine from the US, near the city of Energodar," the law enforcement representative said.

He underscored that the drone’s payload is unable to inflict serious damage to armored vehicles, but could be efficiently used against civilians.

"This drone was supposed to be used to carry out terrorist attacks against civilian population. Thanks to the vigilance and professionalism of security agencies’ employees, criminal intents of the terrorist Ukrainian regime were thwarted," headed.

On Saturday, air defense systems downed a US-made drone, which the Ukrainian armed forces used for reconnaissance and preparation of sabotage in the Energodar area.

Special operation, 29 April. Main:

▪️The RF Armed Forces delivered a strike with high-precision sea-based weapons on the command staff of the Kherson grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported;

▪️In the Kupyansk and Krasnolymansk directions, Kyiv lost about 145 militants per day, in the Donetsk - more than 570, in the Kherson - up to 20 people, the defense department stressed;

▪️Russian artillery destroyed a stronghold of Ukrainian troops near Ugledar in the DPR, said the head of the press center of the Vostok group Alexander Gordeev;

▪️The mayor of Yasynuvata said that two people died as a result of the shelling of the city by Ukrainian troops;

▪️Novaya Kakhovka was subjected to massive shelling by Ukrainian troops, electricity was lost in the city, local authorities reported;

▪️The Governor of Sevastopol said that the fire at the oil depot in the city, which was attacked by drones, was eliminated;

▪️The timing of the counter-offensive of Ukrainian troops in the Zaporozhye region is being shifted, it may begin in May with the establishment of dry weather, said a member of the main council of the regional administration Rogov.

LIVE UPDATES — Over 480 Ukrainian Troops, Mercenaries Wiped Out in Donetsk Area

©Valentin Sprinchak/TASS

Ukraine’s total losses in the Donetsk area reached over 480 troops and mercenaries, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Sunday.

"In total, over the past day in this direction [Donetsk - TASS] more than 480 Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries were eliminated as well as 12 armored combat vehicles, 30 cars, a D-20 howitzer and a Gvozdika motorized artillery system," Konashenkov said.

An artillery ammunition depot of the 54th mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was destroyed near Belogorovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, he added.

Russian assault teams take up another four quarters in Artyomovsk

"In the Donetsk direction, the assault teams continued forcing out the enemy in the western part of the city of Artyomovsk and liberated four quarters," the general reported.

The units of airborne forces during the battles for the city paralyze the enemy in the northern and southern outskirts of Artyomovsk, he pointed out.

Russian aviation, missile forces and artillery from the southern battlegroup struck Ukrainian army’s units in the areas of the settlements of Bogdanovka and Artyomovskoye of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the spokesman noted.

Up to 200 tons of Ukrainian ammunition supplies destroyed by attack on train in Kramatorsk

"Moreover, as a result of an attack on a train at the railway station near the settlement of Kramatorsk of the Donetsk People’s Republic up to 200 tons of Ukrainian ammunition supplies were eliminated," he said.

Russian forces strike Ukrainian command post in Lugansk People’s Republic

"In the area of the Belogorovka settlement in the Lugansk People’s Republic a command post of the 81st air mobile brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was struck. Near the settlement of Svessa in the Sumy region the armaments and military equipment repair base of the 117th territorial defense brigade was struck," Konashenkov said.

According to him, operational/tactical and army aviation, missile forces and the artillery of Russian groups of forces over the past day knocked out 82 Ukrainian artillery units at fire positions, manpower and equipment in 115 areas.

Over 200 troops eliminated in attack on Ukraine’s 24th brigade, special operation forces

"A missile blow on temporary deployment positions of the 24th mechanized brigade and a team of special operations forces of the Ukrainian army in the settlement of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic destroyed over 200 Ukrainian troops, with another 280 evacuated with wounds of varying severity," the spokesman told a briefing.

Up to 85 Ukrainian troops eliminated in Kupyansk area

"In the Kupyansk direction, operational/tactical and army aviation and artillery from the western battlegroup struck the enemy units in areas near the settlements of Sinkovka, Kislovka, Kamenka, Masyutovka in the Kharkov Region and Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic. Over the past day the enemy’s losses in this area totaled up to 85 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles, as well as three motor vehicles," Konashenkov noted.

Russian forces destroy up to 65 Ukrainian troops in Krasny Liman area

In the Krasny Liman direction, operational/tactical aircraft and artillery from the battlegroup Center struck the Ukrainian army’s units in areas near the settlements of Makeyevka and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic, as well as the Serebryansk forestry, the general reported.

"The enemy lost up to 65 Ukrainian troops, an armored combat vehicle, three motor vehicles, as well as two D-20 and D-30 howitzers in 24 hours," he specified.

Russian forces eliminate over 30 Ukrainian troops in southern Donetsk, Zaporozhye areas

"The enemy’s losses in these directions totaled over 30 Ukrainian troops, an armored combat vehicle, two cars as well as Msta-B and D-30 howitzers," the spokesman noted.

In addition, in the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas the battlegroup East destroyed the enemy’s units in the settlements of Ugledar and Vladimirovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic by air strikes and artillery fire.

Up to ten Ukrainian troops, US-made radar locator desroyed in Kherson area

"In the Kherson direction, over 10 Ukrainian personnel, one motor vehicle and a Msta-B howitzer were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of damage inflicted by firepower," Konashenkov said.

Moreover, a US-made counter-battery radar locator AN/TPQ-36 was eliminated in the area of the settlement of Ponyatovka in the Kherson area, he added.

Russian air defenses intercept seven HIMARS, Uragan rockets

"In the past 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted seven rockets of the HIMARS and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems. In addition, they destroyed four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas near the settlements of Novenkoye in the Sumy region, Trudovoye, Chistopolye in the Zaporozhye region as well as Kirillovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the general reported.

In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 413 Ukrainian warplanes, 230 helicopters, 3,905 unmanned aerial vehicles, 421 anti-aircraft missile systems, 8,920 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,095 multiple rocket launchers, 4,695 field artillery guns and mortars and 9,882 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov concluded.

Russian Defense Minister Says Actions of US, Allies Eroded Global Security

©Sputnik / Vadim Savitskii / Go to the mediabank

Actions of the United States and its allies aimed at preserving the US's world dominance have eroded the global security architecture, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

"In an effort to maintain its world dominance, the United States and its allies have seriously eroded the global security architecture. On their initiative, the process of demolition and dismantling of key agreements on arms control and confidence building has been launched," Shoigu told a meeting of the defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in New Delhi.

The Russian defense chief recalled that Washington had first unilaterally terminated the Soviet-US Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, refused to ratify the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, and then had withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Treaty on Open Skies.

In addition, Shoigu noted that the current meeting with colleagues from SCO member states was taking place in "an extremely unstable" international environment. The formation of a new multipolar world is causing drastic, dynamic and irreversible changes, which are opposed by the collective West, the Russian defense minister said.

Sergei Shoigu also highlighted that the conflict in Ukraine confirms the focus of Washington and its allies on provoking other countries to a military confrontation with Moscow and Beijing. "Today, Washington and its accomplices are implementing their strategic plan, which consists in provoking other countries into a military confrontation with ... primarily with Russia and China. A clear confirmation of such a criminal policy is the conflict in Ukraine. Its true goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, threaten China and maintain its monopoly position in the world," Shoidu said at a regular defense ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.

The United States seeks to reformat the system of interstate relations by creating controlled regional alliances, using blackmail and threats, the minister added.

Russian, Chinese Defense Chiefs Hold Talks at SCO Ministerial Meeting

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, held talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) defense ministers' meeting in New Delhi on Friday to discuss issues of mutual interest, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The negotiations between the Russian and Chinese defense ministers were not planned in advance, as follows from the protocol of the event.

In addition, Shoigu and Li briefly exchanged views on a number of pressing issues before the start of the SCO ministerial meeting and between its sessions.

On April 18, the Chinese defense chief paid a visit to Moscow, where he had a meeting with Shoigu. Following the negotiations, the Chinese Defense Ministry said Li's trip to Russia demonstrated the deepening of mutual trust and partnership between the countries' armed forces.

The SCO is an international organization founded by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia and Uzbekistan in 2001. In 2017, India and Pakistan were also admitted to the organization. The SCO also has Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia as observer states, while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey are partner countries. In July 2022, Belarus submitted its application to join the SCO as a full-fledged member.

Twitter to allow publishers to charge users on a per article basis starting May

Elon Musk and Twitter (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Pixabay)

Twitter Inc CEO Elon Musk said on Saturday that the social media platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click, calling it a win for both the public and media organizations.

The feature, to be rolled out in May, will enable users who do not "sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article," billionaire owner Musk tweeted.

On Friday, Musk had said that Twitter will take a 10% cut on content subscriptions after the first year, noting that the company will not take a cut for the first 12 months. These subscriptions include long-form text and hours-long video.

Since taking over the social media firm in October, Musk has swiftly moved through a number of product and organizational changes. The company rolled out Twitter-verified blue tick as a paid service and shrunk the employee base by about 80%.

Musk has been bringing in changes to boost revenue at Twitter after the social media platform saw advertising income drop last year in the run-up to his on-again-off-again acquisition that closed.

Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.

This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2023

"Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click," said Musk. This will enable users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article. "Should be a major win-win for both media organisations and the public," Musk added.

Earlier on Saturday, Twitter said that creators across the globe can now sign up and earn a living on Twitter via the 'Monetization' tool. Musk said that all proceeds will go to content creators and Twitter will keep nothing for now. Twitter To Prioritise ‘Verified’ Accounts, Says Elon Musk Amid Blue Tick Chaos.

"We will keep 10 per cent after 12 months, but iOS/Android subscription fees drop from 30 per cent to 15 per cent in year 2, so still a net gain to creators," the Twitter CEO announced. For many, "this represents a vital source of income and enables them to put more time into creating great content for you," he added.

Meanwhile, Twitter has also applied 'Community Notes' to ads. "The goal is to make this platform maximum truth-seeking or, said another way, the least untrue compared to everything else," Musk said.

US guilty of fomenting conflict in Ukraine — Cuban parliament speaker

President of Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power and Council of State Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez
©Russian Foreign Ministry Press Office/TASS

The US leadership is responsible for fueling the conflict in Ukraine and is trying, through media pressure, to blame Russia for the crisis, Esteban Lazo, President of the National Assembly of People's Power, Cuba's parliament, said on Saturday.

"We reiterate on behalf of the Cuban parliament the most vigorous condemnation of the unilateral sanctions imposed against Russia. We oppose the policy of isolating Russia through a powerful media campaign aimed at inciting hatred against Russia, which they seek to blame for the escalation of the conflict. We are well aware of how the US government operates, the true culprit of this problem," he said at a meeting with State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin in Havana. Lazo noted that Cuba also condemns the policy of NATO expansion and bringing NATO closer to Russia's borders.

"On behalf of the Cuban parliament, we once again express the strongest condemnation of the unilateral sanctions imposed against Russia,

Parliamentary Conference ‘Russia-Latin America’ Planned for This Fall - Moscow

State Duma (Russian parliament's lower house) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has announced that an international parliamentary conference, "Russia-Latin America," will be held starting from the end of September and has invited the speaker of the Cuban parliament to attend the event.

"From September 30 to October 2, a large international parliamentary conference ‘Russia - Latin America’ is scheduled to be held. We invite you to lead a delegation from the Cuban parliament and visit the Russian Federation," Volodin said on Saturday, during a meeting with President of the National Assembly of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernandez.

A State Duma delegation headed by Volodin is currently on an official visit to Cuba. Volodin met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday, discussing interparliamentary relations. The State Duma speaker said that the Russian parliament and Cuba’s National Assembly should enhance cooperation, improve bilateral trade, and do everything possible to support decisions made at the level of heads of state.

Volodin conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Cuban president and said that relations between Miguel Diaz-Canel and Putin set the dynamics for the development of cooperation between the two countries.

US sees some key nations sit out its standoff with Russia, China — newspaper

US intelligence notes that a number of influential states, including Brazil, Egypt, India and Pakistan, are not inclined to support Washington in its standoff with Moscow and Beijing, the Washington Post wrote on Saturday.

According to the publication, "President Biden’s global agenda faces significant challenges as major developing nations seek to evade the intensifying standoff between the United States, Russia and China and, in some cases, exploit that rivalry for their own gain." This is according to classified American intelligence assessments that leaked online, the newspaper specifies.

The article stressed that Brazil, Egypt, India and Pakistan are unwilling to unequivocally support one side or the other "in an era when America is no longer the world’s unchallenged superpower." According to US intelligence agencies, influential regional powers tend "to sit out" in light of the rivalry between Washington, Moscow and Beijing. It is also stated that Russia "demonstrates the ability to deflect Western pressure." While key U.S. allies in Europe and East Asia have backed Biden's Ukraine campaign and are providing more weapons while ditching Russian energy, Washington has faced resistance elsewhere.

"According to one of the leaked documents, Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s minister of state for foreign affairs, argued in March that her country can "no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States," the newspaper says.

She stressed in a memo that cooperation with China is "real strategic" for Pakistan. According to the American side, in February, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif consulted with a subordinate on the issue of the anti-Russian resolution of the UN General Assembly. During the discussion, one of Sharif's aides stated that the support for the resolution would interfere with negotiations with Russia on trade and energy issues. Pakistan ultimately abstained from voting on the resolution.

"India, likewise, appeared to avoid taking sides between Washington and Moscow," the article says. According to US intelligence, National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of India, Ajit Doval, expressed New Delhi's readiness to support Moscow on international platforms. Doval also allegedly noted that India "would not deviate from the principled position it had taken in the past" and would not support the said anti-Russian resolution in the UN General Assembly, the newspaper wrote.