CHINESE president Xi Jinping is set to visit Russia on Monday to push China’s 12-point plan for a peace deal with Ukraine, it was announced today.

The visit was announced hours before the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin for alleged war crimes, a move likely to complicate peace negotiations.

China’s peace plan calls for respect of national sovereignty, abandoning the cold war mentality, ceasing hostilities, resuming peace talks, resolving the humanitarian crisis and protecting civilians and prisoners of war.

The plan also includes the need to keep nuclear power plants safe, reducing strategic risks, facilitating grain exports, stopping unilateral sanctions, keeping industrial and supply chains stable and promoting post-conflict reconstruction.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reached out to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, telling him that Beijing was concerned about the war spinning out of control and urging talks on a political solution.

China has “always upheld an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine issue, has committed itself to promoting peace and advancing negotiations and calls on the international community to create conditions for peace talks,” Mr Qin said.

Mr Kuleba later tweeted that he and Mr Qin “discussed the significance of the principle of territorial integrity.” 

Ukraine has listed Russia’s withdrawal from the occupied areas as the main condition for peace, and China is keen to uphold the principle of territorial integrity because of US attempts to prevent its reunification with Taiwan.

China analyst Carlos Martinez welcomed Mr Xi’s visit, saying: “China has a peace proposal, has just successfully mediated between Iran and Saudi and very much wants the Ukraine war to end.

“The best case scenario is that it provides a get out clause for the West in what is an increasingly unwinnable war.”

China specialist and peace activist Jenny Clegg said: “China puts great emphasis on major powers working together to set a frame  for political and economic stabilisation to allow regional development.”

She said that China’s history of co-operation with Russia offers a “hope for peace or at least a ceasefire in the first instance to avert any further escalation in the Ukraine crisis towards a third world war and to end the senseless slaughter taking place now on the battlefields.”