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Switzerland invites more than 160 states to Ukraine conference
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Heads of state and government from the Group of Seven, the Group of 20, the European Union and the so-called BRICS bloc were invited to the gathering set to take place on June 15 and 16 near Lucerne, the ministry said on its website on Thursday.
Switzerland has invited more than 160 countries to a planned conference on Ukraine’s peace blueprint but didn’t include Russia on the guest list.
Heads of state and government from the Group of Seven, the Group of 20, the European Union and the so-called BRICS bloc were invited to the gathering set to take place on June 15 and 16 near Lucerne, the ministry said on its website on Thursday. Russia stated “publicly that it has no interest in participating in this first summit” and wasn’t offered a place, according to the statement.
Invitations were also extended to the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and to the Vatican as well as to the Patriarch of Constantinople. A full list of invitations wasn’t disclosed.
“The summit will serve as a platform for dialog on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with the UN Charter and the norms of international law,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement on his website. “All the invited parties have confirmed their respect for these principles.”
It remains unclear whether national leaders will indeed participate in the conference or whether countries will send lower-level officials. Another open question remains whether, and at what level, China will attend. Swiss officials have said that Beijing has reacted positively to the initiative on diplomatic channels.
Russia was not invited although “Switzerland has always shown openness to extending an invitation,” the Swiss foreign ministry said. “A peace process without Russia is unthinkable.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on April 12 that holding a conference on Ukraine in Switzerland would be a “road leading nowhere,” according to the Russian state-run news agency Tass.
According to Switzerland, the conference aims to provide a “platform for open dialog” toward peace in Ukraine. The goal is to define a “roadmap” on how to involve both Ukraine and Russia in a “future peace process.”
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