Switzerland to host Ukraine peace conference in June, without Russia

Switzerland said Wednesday (10 April) it would organise a high-level peace conference for Ukraine in mid-June, but without Russia, which promptly slammed the event as a US-orchestrated plot.

Ukraine and up to 100 countries would attend the conference at the luxury Burgenstock resort near the central city of Luzern on June 15-16, which Swiss President Viola Amherd said she would host.

“This is a first step in a process towards a lasting peace,” she told reporters in Bern.

Amherd acknowledged that “we will not sign a peace plan at this conference” but “we hope to start the process.”

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and whose forces are putting Ukraine under new pressure, immediately condemned the event as being part of a scheme by US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party ahead of this year’s presidential election.

“American Democrats, who need photos and videos of events that supposedly indicate their project ‘Ukraine’ is still afloat, are behind this,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

Switzerland hopes to include Russia in later talks.

Support for peace

The Swiss government agreed during a January visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to organise a peace conference this year.

It said in a statement Wednesday that it now determined that “there is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process”.

In January, Zelensky spoke of a “summit” without any Russian participation.

Traditionally neutral Switzerland has from the start insisted that Moscow must be brought into the talks, and has been battling to attract China and other emerging powers.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York in January to try to woo him to the conference.

But Russia, angered by the Swiss decision to go along with sanctions imposed by the European Union, has said the country can no longer be considered neutral.

“A peace process cannot happen without Russia, even though it will not be there during the first meeting,” Cassis said.

“Peace cannot be achieved without all the parties to the conflict onboard.”

Biden coming?

While Russia will not be there, more than 100 other countries will be invited, with invites to go out “in coming days”, Amherd said.

Cassis said the United States has confirmed its participation and that China had sounded “positive” about the initiative.

Bern did not disclose any names of expected attendees, but Swiss media reports said US President Joe Biden would be on the list, with the White House denying any such decision has been taken.

“We have not made a decision yet about who from the US government might attend the summit and no travel plans have been confirmed,” a White House official said.

The conference will be aimed at establishing “a forum for a high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter,” the government said.

“It aims to create a common understanding of a framework favourable to this objective and a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process.”

Cassis acknowledged that organising the conference would not be easy.

“The current geopolitical volatility is growing,” he said, though that “if we have a chance to contribute to peace, we must seize it”.

Also on Wednesday, the Swiss government announced that it will allocate five billion Swiss francs ($5.8 billion) to support Ukraine’s recovery through 2036.

“This amount clearly demonstrates Switzerland’s solidarity with the people affected by the war in Ukraine and will increase stability on the European continent,” it said.

The World Bank has estimated the total cost of reconstruction facing Ukraine after more than two years of war is at least $486 billion.

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