NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has urged alliance members to back Ukraine’s peace initiative rather than a new Chinese-led proposal, POLITICO reports. In an interview on Monday, Stoltenberg responded to Türkiye’s decision to join the “Friends for Peace” initiative launched by China and Brazil last week.

“We should support the Ukrainian initiative,” Stoltenberg told POLITICO. “The Ukrainian peace initiative is an initiative that ensures that we have a process that can lead to a lasting peace.”

Stoltenberg emphasized Ukraine’s right to determine acceptable peace conditions, stating, “Of course, it has to be the Ukrainians that, at the end of the day, decide what are acceptable conditions. They are the victim of a full-scale invasion.”

The “Friends for Peace” initiative, which includes 17 countries with Türkiye as the sole NATO member, aims to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the initiative as not about “choosing sides in the conflict, not about bloc confrontation, and not about replacing existing platforms.”

However, Kyiv has expressed disappointment with Beijing’s move. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously accused China of attempting to undermine a peace summit in Switzerland scheduled for June, which both Russia and China boycotted.

In contrast, Switzerland, a key mediator in the conflict, has shown interest in the Chinese-Brazilian initiative. Nicolas Bideau, chief spokesperson for the Swiss Foreign Affairs Ministry, told Reuters that Switzerland’s view of the Chinese plan has evolved since a reference to the UN Charter was added.

“For us, this translates into a significant change in our view of these initiatives,” Bideau said. “A concrete diplomatic effort organized by the Sino-Brazilian group could be of interest to us.”

The development comes as Stoltenberg prepares to step down from his role as NATO secretary-general.

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