Beijing refused to participate in this summit which aims to begin a “process for lasting peace” in Ukraine, pointing in particular to the absence of Russia which had not been invited.
China has confirmed that it will not participate in the peace conference on Ukraine which will be held in Switzerland on June 15 and 16, according to several sources close to the matter cited by Reuters. Beijing declined the invitation, pointing in particular to the absence of Russia.
China informed its diplomats this week that several conditions for its participation had not been met, including recognition of the conference by Russia and Ukraine. Beijing also requires that parties must participate on an equal footing and that all proposals must be subject to fair discussion. The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
First step towards “global peace”
This conference, proposed at the initiative of Berne at the beginning of April, “must serve as a platform for high-level dialogue to identify pathways to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine, based on international law and the Charter of the United Nations”announced the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs. Guests include member states of the G7, G20, BRICS, many other countries from all continents as well as the EU, three international organizations (UN, OSCE and Council of Europe) and two representatives from the religious world (the Vatican and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople). The United States, for their part, confirmed their participation.
Russia, however, was not invited. When the establishment of this conference was announced in April, Russian diplomacy described this conference as a project “American Democrats”. “Behind all this are the American Democrats who want photos and videos of such an event to signify that their ‘Ukraine’ project remains relevant”the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, reacted to the state agency TASS.
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For his part, the Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ignazio Cassis, insisted on the fact “that a peace process cannot be done without Russia, even if it will not be there during the first meeting”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested on May 30 that China could organize a peace conference in which Russia and Ukraine could participate.
China has not condemned the Russian invasion in Ukraine since its beginnings in February 2022. If Beijing regularly calls for respect for the territorial integrity of all countries (implying Ukraine included), it also urges to take into account consideration Russia’s security concerns.