Switzerland to host Ukraine Peace Summit on June 15-16
The Swiss government will host a two-day high-level conference in June aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, it said on Wednesday, although Russia has made clear it will not take part in the initiative.
Switzerland said in January it would host a peace summit at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and has since held talks with the EU, G7 member states and countries such as China and India to gauge their interest in taking part.
“There is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process,” the Federal Council said in a statement.
The conference will be held June 15-16 at the Bürgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden outside the city of Lucerne. It will aim to create a framework favourable to a comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine, as well as “a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process”.
While Moscow has said it is not against negotiations to end the war, Russian officials have said they will not take part in talks in Switzerland, a country they consider to have relinquished its neutrality with regard to the conflict.
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has said the Swiss initiative is pointless without Moscow’s participation.
China, a Moscow ally, said last month it would consider taking part in the conference.
Beijing itself put forward a 12-point paper more than a year ago that set out general principles for ending the war but did not get into specifics. It received a lukewarm reception at the time in both Russia and Ukraine, although Russia’s foreign minister said this month that plan was the most reasonable of those presented by other countries so far.
Swiss President Viola Amherd said there was no guarantee June’s initiative would be a success and that it would not immediately yield a peace deal.
Reuters
