Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia and China of undermining his upcoming global peace summit in Switzerland.
He said Russia was trying to discourage other states from attending the event, and that China was also working on this.
Speaking at an Asian security forum, he also said that “elements of Russian weaponry” are coming from China.
China says it is not taking either side of the war in Ukraine, a position increasingly questioned by the US in particular.
Beijing is accused of helping Moscow by sending weapons parts. It is also seen as supporting the Russian economy through the purchase of large quantities of oil and gas, softening the impact of Western sanctions.
Mr Zelensky made a surprise appearance at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, attended by defense chiefs from around the world, including the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun.
The visit was aimed at garnering support from Asian countries. Besides meeting regional leaders, he also urged delegates to attend his summit, which will take place later in June.
Zelensky said it would focus on achieving nuclear safety, food security and the release of prisoners of war and Ukrainian children held in Russia.
So far, 106 countries have said they would send high-level representatives or their leaders to the summit, he said.
Russia is not invited and China is not present.
No formal invitation was made to Russia, because Moscow had informed Switzerland early on that it did not want to participate, the BBC understands.
Mr Zelensky alleged that Russia tried to disrupt the summit by pressuring countries not to attend, threatening a blockade of agricultural products, chemicals and energy.
Certain countries aided this “diplomatic disruption,” he added.
He later mentioned China, saying it is “working to ensure that countries do not come to the peace summit,” unlike the US, which has pledged to send a high-level representative and is encouraging others to attend.
China’s Foreign Ministry had said the conference “should have the recognition of Russia and Ukraine” and equal participation. “Otherwise it will be difficult for the conference to play a substantive role in restoring peace,” a spokeswoman said on Friday.
Zelensky also said that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had previously promised him that they would “stand aside in this war and not support Russia with weapons.”
But, he added, according to several intelligence agencies, there are now “elements that are part of the Russian weapons” coming from China. He called on China to take a “consistent” position.
The US has said China is helping Russia make more ammunition, armored vehicles and missiles. It estimates that about 70% of machine tools and 90% of microelectronics that Russia imports come from China.
Earlier on Sunday, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun said they would not supply weapons to either side in the conflict in Ukraine.
He also said they have put in place “strict controls” on the export of dual-use technology, which are products that can be used for civilian and military purposes.
“We never did anything to fan the flames. We stand firmly on the side of peace and dialogue,” he said in his speech.
Mr. Zelensky said he did not meet Mr. Dong during the dialogue, but he did meet Mr. Austin. The two discussed the US decision to let Ukraine use US weapons on Russian territory, Zelensky said.
That decision comes with certain limitations. When asked by the BBC whether he was calling for the restrictions to be lifted, he said he was grateful to the US for allowing Ukraine to use the HIMARS artillery rocket system on the border of the Kharkiv region, where there was heavy fighting.
“Is that sufficient? No,” he said, adding that there were airfields from which Russia fired permanently “knowing that Ukraine will not fire back.”
The US joins other Western states, such as France, in giving Ukraine more leeway in using Western-supplied weapons. Russia has warned of “serious consequences” of this move.
This weekend marked the second time Zelensky visited Asia since the start of the war. He made a surprise appearance a year ago at the G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
