FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2023
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga - [email protected]
Peace Activists Meet at DC Chinese Embassy to Express Appreciation for Ukraine Peace Efforts
WASHINGTON-On May 15, 2023, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, a feminist-led peace organization, and Helena Cobban, President of Just World Educational, delivered a letter to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC to express appreciation for China’s diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine.
In the embassy, Ms. Cobban and Ms. Benjamin were received by Councillor Liu Tao, who leads the embassy’s efforts to coordinate with the United States on a range of “regional” issues, including those concerning Ukraine and the rest of Europe. Cllr. Liu engaged in a friendly and substantive exchange of views, analyses, and ideas with his visitors. He noted that China and the United States should cooperate more in resolving numerous crises in the world today, in Ukraine as well as Sudan, Yemen, and elsewhere.
Ms. Benjamin and Ms. Cobban’s letter expressed appreciation for the People’s Republic of China’s pursuit of peace to end the war in Ukraine. It noted that CODEPINK, a partner in the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, applauded China’s 12-point peace plan released on February 24, 2023. In addition, the letter expressed great interest in President Xi Jinping’s recent phone-call with Ukraine’s President Zelensky, as well as the PRC’s decision to dispatch a high-level envoy to Ukraine and other countries to work for de-escalation and peacemaking.
As a member and initiator of the Peace in Ukraine coalition, CODEPINK has helped mobilize 100 pro-peace citizen groups, primarily in the United States but also in Europe, to lobby lawmakers, host street vigils and publish OpEds. In recent weeks, the coalition has launched a nationwide petition calling on Biden, Putin and Zelensky to support a ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine.
The May 15th meeting participants agreed to stay in touch to boost efforts to win peace in Ukraine.
CODEPINK hopes to organize similar solidarity visits to other DC embassies representing countries calling for a ceasefire and urgent diplomatic efforts.
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