"We're working intensively on the diplomatic front to convince those who haven't yet announced their participation," Nicolas Bideau, head of communications at the Swiss Foreign Ministry, told Swiss public radio RTS.
"Let's talk about a ceasefire, about peace scenarios, let's mobilize diplomacy and approach weapons as a last resort," Slovak President-elect Peter Pellegrini said without elaborating on concrete steps.
Switzerland has invited Pope Francis to attend the upcoming global peace summit dedicated to ending the war in Ukraine, Swiss President Viola Amherd said on May 5.
Key developments on April 6-7: * Prosecutor General's Office: Russian soldiers kill 3 Ukrainian POWs * Trump reportedly wants Ukraine to cede Crimea, Donbas to Russia * Russia lost 7 aircraft in Ukraine's April 5 attack on air base, source says * Zelensky says Kharkiv is prepared for a potential Russian offensive * North Korea’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has dismissed Ukraine’s peace plan, saying it is pointless to ask for Moscow to withdraw its troops from areas it currently occupies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in France this May, Politico reported on March 18. This would be the Chinese leader's first visit to Europe since the pandemic.
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a call with Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto on March 18, after the ex-general claimed victory in the election on Feb. 14.
China is considering taking part in talks on Ukraine's peace formula in the coming months, Chinese Ambassador to Switzerland Wang Shihting told Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung on March 18.
"The Kremlin has presented its list of conditions that it as an aggressor has no right to put forward," Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 16.
Many critics of Western support for Ukraine have claimed that providing arms to Kyiv "unnecessarily prolongs the war," alleging that peace would come faster if the weapons stopped flowing. Ukrainian officials have dismissed this idea, arguing that such a step would only hasten Russian occupation of the country.
The comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that Western military presence in Ukraine cannot be “ruled out” in the future. The U.S. and multiple European allies, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, have distanced themselves from Macron’s statement.
"Don't be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse," Pope Francis said in an interview when asked whether Ukraine's potential negotiations with Russia would legitimize the aggressor.
