US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that a conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be "a very good thing."

He stressed that the United States had long been "encouraging" such contact, saying, "We think it is very important for the Chinese to listen to the point of view of the Ukrainians, not just the point of view of (Vladimir) Putin."

The Ukrainian president announced at the end of February that he expected to meet with the Chinese president, while the Wall Street Journal reported at the weekend that Xi Jinping intends to speak soon to his Ukrainian counterpart, which will be their first conversation since the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.

According to the newspaper, the call could take place after the Chinese president's upcoming visit to Moscow next week.

China did not explicitly condemn or support Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but it provides diplomatic support to Moscow.

On February 24, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Beijing published a 12-point document calling on Moscow and Kiev to hold peace talks.

But if China seeks to present itself as a mediator in this dispute, its position as an ally of Russia raises doubts among Westerners about its role.

The United States recently accused it of intending to supply weapons to Russia, which China strongly denied.