News Snapshot:
Earlier this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping called up Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since Russia invaded last year. Is Xi’s peace overture to Ukraine for real? He has several reasons for sincerely hoping that the war between Ukraine and Russia ends soon. Is his overture likely to achieve the goal? That’s a different question. Unless the underlying geopolitics change, probably not. Two months ago, Xi issued a vague 12-point “peace plan,” and Zelensky found it intriguing enough to request a conversation. On Wednesday, Xi followed up, and they had an hourlong call that Zelensky later described...
