According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, China should be the mediator in future peace talks between Russia and Ukraine as the Western powers do not seem to be able to fulfill the role. 

Beijing has not condemned Moscow's special operation in Ukraine as it seeks to maintain close relations with Russia, but Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that China "deeply regrets that conflict has broken out between Ukraine and Russia, and is paying extreme attention to the harm suffered by civilians", as per the state broadcaster CCTV. 

In an interview with Spanish daily El Mundo that was published on Friday evening, Borrell said, "There is no alternative... It must be China, I am sure of that," adding that "Diplomacy cannot only be European or American. Chinese diplomacy has a role to play here."
 
Borrell added it was "obvious" that the EU and the US could not mediate; thus, he ruled out reviving the so-called Normandy format.
 
The format, established in 2014, aimed to end the fight between Ukraine and the Donbass authorities in the east of the country. 

Russia had for months been warning of the threat posed against it by NATO's attempts to expand eastward, which happened simultaneously with an increase in NATO military activity along Russia's borders, and batches of lethal weapons being sent to Ukraine, prompting Russia to request security guarantees from the West. Washington failed to provide the guarantees.

The special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military facilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, and the civilian population is not at risk.