Russia blackmailing some leaders ahead of Ukraine's peace summit, Zelensky says
Russia continues its attempts to disrupt Ukraine's peace summit next month, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 31 during the joint press conference of the Nordic-Ukrainian summit's participants in Stockholm.
The global peace summit will be held on June 15-16 in the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland.
"Our diplomacy must be as effective as our weapons. The most important thing right now is the peace summit. It should become a truly global summit," Zelensky said.
"At this moment, we already have about 100 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."
The president said that Kyiv is still waiting for the responses from some of the partners.
"Today, we discussed how we can strengthen our peace efforts together," he added.
Zelensky previously ruled out Russia's participation in the event, as it continues to attack Ukraine on a daily basis.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also said Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to disrupt the upcoming summit.
"Putin is desperately trying to derail the peace summit in Switzerland on June 15–16. He is scared of its success," Kuleba wrote on X.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said that Moscow has to be at a peace summit "sooner or later," even if it does not attend its first meeting.
Chris York
