"All parts of the world, all continents, different nations, both large and small geographically, and every political pole of our world—Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific, Australia, North America—are all represented at the summit," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Participants of Ukraine's global peace summit will seek to formulate a new joint peace plan based on points in President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak said in an interview with the BBC on June 15.
Geng Shuang, China's deputy representative to the United Nations, called on Ukraine and Russia to "demonstrate political will" to end the war.
"What he's doing is a revival of Nazism," Zelensky said. "...He wants us to renounce our occupied territories but he also wants our unoccupied territories. He... doesn't intend to stop, and there will be no frozen conflict."
Speaking on the eve of the global peace summit in Switzerland on June 15-16, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian troops must leave Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, and Kyiv must abandon any ambition to join NATO. Russia doesn't aim for peace, but for the continuation of the war, the occupation of Ukraine, and the destruction of Ukrainian people, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement.
On June 5, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Sun Weidong for political consultations, as reported by Ukraine's press service of the Foreign Ministry.
The Philippines and Singapore, which President Volodymyr Zelensky visited before the peace summit, will also attend the event.
Hungary respects Switzerland's efforts to achieve peace but doubts whether the summit makes sense if "there aren't both parties to the war" present, according to the minister.
Ukraine hopes the summit will address several key areas, such as energy security, the exchange of captives, the return of deported children, global food security, and other topics.
President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Guardian in an interview he believes such an approach would green light further attacks by Russia, “reducing to zero” the U.S.’s global influence.
If Russia is able to rebuild its forces during a pause in fighting, it will be able to become strong enough to issue ultimatums to Ukraine, such ceding territory, a pledge not to join alliances (such as NATO), or other undesirable conditions, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"At this moment, we already have about a hundred states and international organizations that will participate in the summit, but Russia is blackmailing some leaders and trying to block the participation of some countries," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to address delegates at the event on June 1, according to the news agency's undisclosed sources.
One source said China had insisted the summit should be recognised by both Russia and Ukraine and both countries should participate.
The Ukrainian president will meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the monarchy's de facto ruler, and other senior officials during the visit to the port city of Jeddah, the source said.
South Africans will flock to the polls on May 29 for the country’s most important general election since the advent of its non-racial democracy in April 1994. According to most opinion polls, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, Africa’s oldest liberation movement, is expected to fall below
The EU is discussing how to progress from Ukranie's global peace summit in June to a possible meeting with Russian participation in Saudi Arabia in autumn, Bloomberg reported on May 27, citing undisclosed official sources.
On May 26, Zelensky called on the leaders of the U.S., Joe Biden, and China, Xi Jinping, to "show their leadership in advancing the peace," participating personally in the upcoming summit.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin can fight for as long as it takes, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire – to freeze the war," a senior Russian source who has worked with him told the news outlet on condition of anonymity.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-year term as Ukraine’s president expired on May 20. For most Ukrainian citizens, including the country’s constitutionalists, the path forward is clear: Zelensky should continue as president until martial law in Ukraine ends and new elections can take place. But critics argue that Zelensky and
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not yet confirmed his own attendance. "The level of participation will depend on timing, logistics, and parallel commitments," Modi said.
Some 160 national delegations were invited to the peace summit, and at least 50 countries have confirmed their participation.
"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.
The comments follow reporting by the Sunday Times that U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron had allegedly personally pitched a peace plan to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Russia is intent on pushing this unsubstantiated narrative because it wants to "shift the blame for the war...to Ukraine."
David Cameron met Donald Trump at the latter's Florida residence in early April, seeking to convince the likely Republican nominee for the November 2024 presidential vote of the need to continue supporting Kyiv.
"The First Peace Summit for Ukraine is in June — and Canada will be there," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X. "I look forward to joining other world leaders to advance our shared goal of just and lasting peace for Ukraine."
"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.
The comments indicated a change of heart from Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who said in November 2023 that the "time is not yet ripe" for ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine.
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.
"That is why, for our part, we will continue to be concerned about Zelensky having everything he needs," U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
While Russia has not been invited to the summit, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak said that China’s attendance would be very important, and that Ukraine is making every effort to engage Chinese delegates in participating in the event.
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