ISTANBUL

China on Monday said that not attending the Ukraine conference “does not mean not supporting peace,” state media reported.

Beijing was reacting to the claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that China was "working hard" to disrupt the upcoming Ukraine peace summit, which is scheduled to take place in Switzerland from June 15 to 16.

China not attending the Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland “does not mean not supporting peace, and for certain countries, even if they do participate, they do not necessarily wholeheartedly hope to end the conflict,” said Moa Ning, spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry.

Mao said China hopes that the peace conference “will not turn into a platform used to create bloc confrontation.”

“China, unfortunately, is working hard today to prevent countries from coming to the peace summit,” Zelenskyy told at a news conference on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday.

Beijing has said it supports the “timely convening of an international peace conference that is recognized by both the Russian and Ukrainian sides.

“There remains a noticeable gap between the peace summit arrangements and China's demands, and China finds it hard to participate,” Mao had said last week.

Reacting to claims that there were elements of Russia’s weaponry that came from China, Mao said Beijing does “not provide arms to warring parties and strictly controls dual-use items.”

“Normal trade between China and Russia is aboveboard, in line with World Trade Organization rules and market principles, and does not target any third party,” she told reporters in Beijing on Monday.