China’s 12-point plan to end Ukraine war includes halting Russian sanctions

China has called for a cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia, according to a proposal released by its foreign ministry Thursday evening.

The 12-point plan, which was issued at 9 a.m. Friday local time, comes after nearly a year of China serving as one of Moscow’s closest allies while attempting to play neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war. Chinese President Xi Jinping also plans to deliver a “peace speech” before the United Nations on Friday, marking the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

The peace proposal includes plans to uphold the sovereignty of both forces, abandon a “Cold War mentality” and ensure that nuclear power plants are kept safely.

China is also calling for the stop of all “unilateral sanctions,” a direct hit at the sanctions imposed by the United States and 37 other allies following the Russian invasion.

“Unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure cannot solve the issue; they only create new problems,” read the proposal. “China opposes unilateral sanctions unauthorized by the UN Security Council. Relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ against other countries, so as to do their share in deescalating the Ukraine crisis and create conditions for developing countries to grow their economies and better the lives of their people.”

China has remained adamant that they are a neutral party in the Russian-Ukraine conflict, including abstaining from a vote during the UN General Assembly on Thursday that called for Russia to withdraw its troops. However, according to a report in January, China has continued to provide Russia with significant amounts of dual-use technologies for the Kremlin’s defense industry despite global sanctions.

On Wednesday, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi also visited Moscow, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Kremin is awaiting “a visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China to Russia,” reported Reuters.

Xi’s speech on Friday is expected to include points from the proposed peace plan, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already appeared to dismiss any potential peace discussions by China.

Zelensky, on the other hand, has repeatedly presented a 10-point plan of Ukrainian demands in order to bring the war to an end. Part of the demands include restoring all of Ukraine’s territory and the complete withdrawal of Russian troops.

While China’s plan does mention respecting nations’ sovereign borders, there is not a specific point that calls for Russia to withdrawal from Ukraine or for all of Ukrainian territory to be restored.

Meanwhile, Russia has stated that negotiating with Kyiv to broker a peace deal is an impossible goal.

Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.