Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted positively to a Chinese proposal for a ceasefire in the Russian invasion of his country, but says he will watch what Beijing does next.
Zelenskyy met with more than 100 journalists in Kyiv on Friday, which marks one year since the invasion began. The news conference started with a moment of silence to mourn the journalists killed in the conflict.
China on Friday issued a document calling on Russia and Ukraine to resume direct talks on a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy said it is good that China has begun to talk about Ukraine. But he said he does not know what will happen later, and that it all depends on the next steps.
He said he wants to believe that China will not supply weapons to Russia, which he said is very important.
Zelenskyy also expressed hope for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He stressed that such talks would be beneficial for their countries as well as for global security.
In response to a question from an NHK reporter, Zelenskyy said Japan's support has been very important. Japan holds this year's Group of Seven presidency.
He said he has invited Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to visit Ukraine and that he is looking forward to his visit. He added that it has not yet been decided when this will take place.
The question-and-answer session lasted for about two and a half hours.