Bern [Switzerland], World leaders gathered in Switzerland on Saturday to attend a Ukraine peace summit to pressure Russia to end the war with Ukraine. However, Russia and China stayed away from the summit, The Kyiv Independent reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping the leaders gathered at the summit will try to pave the way for a future peace process that would also include Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 14 that "two days of active work are to be held with countries, with different people from all corners of the world" united by the goal of bringing "a just and lasting peace for Ukraine." Are. He reached Switzerland.The peace summit began on June 15 and will end on June 16, bringing together representatives from 92 countries and organizations, according to Kyiv, down from the 107 countries and international organizations that confirmed their attendance in early June. Is of.
This came after Russia dismissed the Ukraine summit as "nonsense" and showed no interest in attending, despite being invited, Al Jazeera reported. China did not participate in the summit.
With China's absence, Western hopes of isolating Russia have faded, while recent military defeats on the battlefield have put Ukrainian forces on the backfoot. The hope, according to Ukraine, is that the peace summit The conference will address a number of key issues, including energy security, prisoner exchanges, the return of exiled children and global food security, The Kyiv Independent reports.
Zelensky said the summit would enable the global majority to take concrete steps in areas that are important to everyone in the world, including nuclear and food security, the return of prisoners of war, and the return of all deported persons, including deported Ukrainian children.Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris and the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are expected to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit. Russia has maintained friendly relations with Russia, Al Jazeera reported. India, Turkey and Hungary are also expected to attend the summit.
Notably, Saudi Arabia is also one of the countries present at the summit, despite its earlier announcement in June that the country was not planning to attend the summit.
The Ukrainian President made a previously unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia on June 12. Meanwhile, Brazil, the Holy See, the United Nations and the Ecumenical Patriarchate are attending the summit not as full participants but as observers.According to reports, US President Joe Biden will not attend the summit, which ultimately prompted Zelensky to say that his absence "will only be met by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's applause, a personal, standing ovation by Putin Applause."
Zelensky said, "I believe that the peace summit needs President Biden, and other leaders need President Biden because they will look at the US response."However, according to the Kyiv Independent report, the Biden summit Unable to attend convention because it conflicts with a campaign fundraiser.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the event as an important step towards progress.
Speaking to Welt TV ahead of a visit to Switzerland, he said: “Many questions of peace and security will be discussed, but not the biggest questions.That was always the plan." "It's a little plant that needs watering, but of course with the perspective that there's so much more that can come from it."
Earlier on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced that Russia would end its war in Ukraine only if Kiev surrenders the entire territory of the four regions claimed by Moscow and joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Will drop his bid for, CNN reported. ,
However, Ukraine has rejected Putin's demand, calling it "completely pretentious" and "insulting to common sense." Putin's speech, which came on the eve of the Swiss peace conference, called for a bilateral meeting between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. Russia's conditions for a "final end" to the war are spelled out in more detail than at any previous time since the conflict began.The Russian President described the conference as "another ploy to divert everyone's attention."
In addition to the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four regions, Putin said Kiev must demilitarize and Western countries must lift their sanctions on Russia. Putin's demands will help Russia achieve its original war goals, CNN reported. indicates failure, while Moscow believed it could capture Kiev in a matter of days and the rest of Ukraine within weeks.
However, about 28 months later, Russia annexed approximately one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula it had captured 10 years earlier.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping the leaders gathered at the summit will try to pave the way for a future peace process that would also include Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 14 that "two days of active work are to be held with countries, with different people from all corners of the world" united by the goal of bringing "a just and lasting peace for Ukraine." Are. He reached Switzerland.The peace summit began on June 15 and will end on June 16, bringing together representatives from 92 countries and organizations, according to Kyiv, down from the 107 countries and international organizations that confirmed their attendance in early June. Is of.
This came after Russia dismissed the Ukraine summit as "nonsense" and showed no interest in attending, despite being invited, Al Jazeera reported. China did not participate in the summit.
With China's absence, Western hopes of isolating Russia have faded, while recent military defeats on the battlefield have put Ukrainian forces on the backfoot. The hope, according to Ukraine, is that the peace summit The conference will address a number of key issues, including energy security, prisoner exchanges, the return of exiled children and global food security, The Kyiv Independent reports.
Zelensky said the summit would enable the global majority to take concrete steps in areas that are important to everyone in the world, including nuclear and food security, the return of prisoners of war, and the return of all deported persons, including deported Ukrainian children.Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris and the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are expected to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit. Russia has maintained friendly relations with Russia, Al Jazeera reported. India, Turkey and Hungary are also expected to attend the summit.
Notably, Saudi Arabia is also one of the countries present at the summit, despite its earlier announcement in June that the country was not planning to attend the summit.
The Ukrainian President made a previously unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia on June 12. Meanwhile, Brazil, the Holy See, the United Nations and the Ecumenical Patriarchate are attending the summit not as full participants but as observers.According to reports, US President Joe Biden will not attend the summit, which ultimately prompted Zelensky to say that his absence "will only be met by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's applause, a personal, standing ovation by Putin Applause."
Zelensky said, "I believe that the peace summit needs President Biden, and other leaders need President Biden because they will look at the US response."However, according to the Kyiv Independent report, the Biden summit Unable to attend convention because it conflicts with a campaign fundraiser.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the event as an important step towards progress.
Speaking to Welt TV ahead of a visit to Switzerland, he said: “Many questions of peace and security will be discussed, but not the biggest questions.That was always the plan." "It's a little plant that needs watering, but of course with the perspective that there's so much more that can come from it."
Earlier on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced that Russia would end its war in Ukraine only if Kiev surrenders the entire territory of the four regions claimed by Moscow and joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Will drop his bid for, CNN reported. ,
However, Ukraine has rejected Putin's demand, calling it "completely pretentious" and "insulting to common sense." Putin's speech, which came on the eve of the Swiss peace conference, called for a bilateral meeting between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. Russia's conditions for a "final end" to the war are spelled out in more detail than at any previous time since the conflict began.The Russian President described the conference as "another ploy to divert everyone's attention."
In addition to the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four regions, Putin said Kiev must demilitarize and Western countries must lift their sanctions on Russia. Putin's demands will help Russia achieve its original war goals, CNN reported. indicates failure, while Moscow believed it could capture Kiev in a matter of days and the rest of Ukraine within weeks.
However, about 28 months later, Russia annexed approximately one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula it had captured 10 years earlier.
