GENEVA, June 15. /TASS/. Switzerland is convening a summit on June 15 in the resort of Burgenstock in an attempt to discuss ways to peace in Ukraine.
As the Swiss government announced on its website, the summit offers the opportunity "to discuss for the first time at the highest level how and when Russia can be included in this process."
"For the Federal Council, the development of a lasting solution ultimately requires the participation of both sides. By organizing this summit, Switzerland is enabling a first step that should trigger a process towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," the statement says.
As announced on June 14 in Bern, delegations from 100 countries and organizations will gather at the hotel on Mount Burgenstock, including 57 that will be represented at the level of heads of state and government.
Invitations were previously sent to more than 160 states. China said it would not send a delegation to the conference because key factors for holding it were not secured. Beijing proceeds from the fact that the forum on Ukraine "should be recognized by both the Russian and Ukrainian sides." In turn, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also said during the Group of Seven meeting in Italy that only an international conference that would be recognized by both Kiev and Moscow could lead to peace in Ukraine.
A number of countries will not be represented at the Burgenstock at the highest level. In particular, Australia has sent its Minister of the Insurance System to Switzerland, although Kiev requested the participation of the Prime Minister or his deputy.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Prime Ministers of Canada and Japan Justin Trudeau and Fumio Kishida are expected in Burgenstock. The Politico newspaper recently called them "lame ducks", given the internal problems in their countries and weakening political positions.
The conference in Switzerland will last two days against the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new peace proposal to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, which has caused widespread international resonance.
On June 14, at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry Putin said that reaching a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian conflict without the participation of Russia and an honest dialogue with it is impossible. According to the Russian leader, it is already obvious that in Switzerland "they are not in principle going to discuss the root causes behind the Ukraine conflict or any fundamental issues surrounding the current international security or stability crisis."
"One can expect already now that everything will be reduced to general discussions about demography or a new set of accusations against Russia," Putin said.
Putin said that Russia is coming up with a new peace proposal to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. It provides for recognition of the status of Crimea, the People’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR, LPR), Zaporozhye and Kherson regions as regions of Russia, consolidation of the nuclear-free status of Ukraine, its demilitarization and denazification, and the abolition of anti-Russian sanctions. To begin negotiations, Ukraine must withdraw its forces from the territory of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, he said.
When TASS asked Switzerland's opinion about Russia's new peace proposals, the Swiss Foreign Ministry stated that it "does not comment" on this topic.