At least 50 countries will take part in the Peace Summit on Ukraine, which will be held on June 15-16. They have already confirmed their participation, stated the Head of the Communication Department of the Swiss Foreign Affairs Ministry, Nicolas Bideau.
The 50 leaders who have confirmed their participation include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Bideau said that the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs is satisfied with the responses received, but expects more.
“The major European countries are there, but we would also like to have, as much as possible, countries from the South because we want an open discussion on all the possibilities and reflections for peace in Ukraine,” he added.
Nicolas Bideau said that Switzerland expected a large number of participants in the summit. Therefore, the country's authorities are working to convince countries that have not yet confirmed their participation.
However, he reminded that Russia would not take part in the summit. "We did not invite Russia, because it keeps saying that it is not interested,” he added.
According to the Foreign Ministry representative, engaging Russia in future participation is one of the goals of the leaders' meeting. “We are in a preparation phase, we will not make peace, as such, at the Bürgenstock but we would really like to launch a process that involves Russia. That’s why we are staying in contact with it,” Bideau concluded.
Peace Summit
The Peace Summit will be held in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock, located in the mountains. Ukraine and Switzerland are the organizers of the event.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been actively inviting foreign leaders to participate in the summit. In particular, the invitation was accepted by Polish President Andrzej Duda, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo.
Kyiv wants to raise three issues at the summit. Read more about this in the material by RBC-Ukraine.