Chinese President Xi Jinping has spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Beijing saying it wanted to send an envoy to Kyiv to serve as a mediator to pursue a “political settlement”.

The phone call on Wednesday lasted nearly an hour and was “long and meaningful”, according to the Ukrainian president.

“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.

I had a long and meaningful phone call with 🇨🇳 President Xi Jinping. I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine's ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 26, 2023

The first known wartime phone call between the two leaders comes after Xi and Zelenskyy both said they were willing to speak to each other following Xi’s visit to Moscow in March.

A Chinese foreign ministry statement said Beijing’s “core stance is to facilitate talks for peace” and announced that an envoy – a former ambassador to Russia – would visit Ukraine to seek a “political settlement”.

The statement struck a positive tone, giving a nod to Kyiv’s insistence that its territory cannot be broken up by Russia’s annexations and making clear that Beijing values its long-standing ties with Ukraine.