Geneva: Switzerland’s government said Wednesday it will host a high-level international conference in June to pave the way for peace in Ukraine. This initiative is being taken to end the war that has been going on between Ukraine and Russia for more than two years and establish peace. The conference is likely to be held on June 15-16 in the Burgenstock resort of Switzerland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also agreed to the conference.
“After Ukraine, we first talked to Russia, because without Russia there can be no peace process, even if it was not present at the first meeting,” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told reporters in the capital Bern. It was reported in the newspaper ‘Neue Zurcher Zeitung’ that US President Joe Biden may also attend the conference. During that time, Biden is likely to be in Italy for the meeting of G7 leaders. However, the US Presidential Office ‘White House’ has not said whether Biden will attend the conference to be held in Switzerland or not.
These countries will be included
The Swiss government said that initial talks regarding organizing the conference included envoys from the European Union (EU) and other countries including Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa. “At its meeting today, the Federal Council took note of the results so far and discussed the next steps,” Switzerland’s government said in a statement. There is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process. China’s Foreign Ministry has said that China supports a conference that is acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned last week that potential talks to end the war in Ukraine could only be successful if they take into account Russia’s interests. He dismissed the proposed peace talks as a ploy by Western countries to garner broader international support for Ukraine. (AP)
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