Putin will applaud if Biden doesn't attend Ukraine peace summit, Zelensky says
U.S. President Joe Biden's absence at the upcoming global peace summit would be met with applause by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference in Brussels on May 28.
Switzerland is scheduled to host the summit on June 15-16. While some 90 countries confirmed their participation, the White House has yet to confirm Biden's attendance.
"I believe that the peace summit needs President Biden, and other leaders need President Biden because they will look at the U.S.'s reaction," Zelensky said.
"(Biden's) absence would only be met by an applause by Putin, a personal, standing applause by Putin," he added.
Zelensky said he is aware that Washington backs the peace summit but does not know "at what level" this support is.
Bloomberg reported on May 23 that Biden is likely to miss the peace conference as it clashes with a campaign fundraiser. Reuters wrote, citing an undisclosed American official, that the U.S. will send a representation to the summit, but it remains unclear who will be the delegate.
Zelensky also said that Kyiv is still waiting for a response from China and Brazil, and for confirmation from several African countries.
The president also noted that there will be a "peace summit organized by the whole world, and then there will be something that Russia will try to do."
Reuters reported on May 24 that according to its undisclosed Russian sources, Putin is open to a ceasefire that recognizes the current front lines on the battlefield but will fight on if Ukraine and its allies do not agree.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba commented that Putin merely aims to disrupt the peace summit, adding that the Russian leader has no desire to end the war.
Martin Fornusek
