Switzerland is planning to hold an international conference on a peaceful settlement in Ukraine in June with the participation of a large number of countries, primarily representatives of the so-called Global South. Russia will not be invited. The main intrigue remains whether China will participate.
Source. Bloomberg
The conference may take place on 16-17 June, with delegations from 80-100 countries expected to attend, people familiar with the situation told the agency. However, according to them, it is not yet known how many leaders will be able to attend.
The previous five conferences were held at the level of national security advisers.
Swiss Confederation President Viola Amerd promised to hold a summit of leaders after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in January on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
A Swiss foreign ministry spokesman told Bloomberg that no final decision has been made on the date and location of the event:
"In addition to the positions of Ukraine, Russia and Europe, it is also important to hear from the Global South, which will play a key role in further engaging Russia in the peace process. That is why we are in close contact with China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia."
Kyiv and its allies see China's participation as crucial to the success of the meeting, as they believe Beijing can influence Moscow.
So far, a Chinese representative has participated in only the second conference on Zelenskyy's peace formula.
China needs to be at the table at the next conferences, said Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, during an event in Switzerland in January (attended by national security advisers from 83 countries).
In March, Li Hui, the Chinese government's special representative for Eurasian affairs, said that Beijing believes it is necessary to organise a peace conference that will be equally recognised by both Russia and Ukraine. Commenting on the possibility of holding it in Switzerland, he noted that it would be good for all parties "to participate on an equal footing, to discuss all proposed projects fairly, to guarantee success and to get results from this event".
Background. Earlier, Zelenskyy said that Putin would be ready for dialogue when Ukraine reaches its borders in 2022.