Switzerland invites over 160 delegations to Ukraine peace conference

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Switzerland on Thursday said it has invited over 160 delegations from around the world to attend a Ukraine peace conference being hosted in June at Kyiv's request, and to which Russia has not been invited.

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in a press release said the invited delegations include members of the G7, G20, BRICS, EU, international organizations and two religious representatives.

The conference will take place on June 15-16 on the Burgenstock, a Swiss mountain in the canton of Nidwalden.

The conference aims to build on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace formula and other proposals based on the UN Charter and the main principles of international law. The 10-point peace formula presented in late 2022, among other things, seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine.

"The overarching objective of the summit is to inspire a future peace process," the Swiss government said.

Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and direct peace talks were held in the first few weeks of the conflict, without any result.

The statement said “Switzerland has a long tradition of promoting dialogue" and it “therefore considers the exchange of different views on the path to peace in Ukraine to be extremely important."

Russia has not been invited, but the Foreign Ministry said Geneva is open to extending an invitation.

Moscow has repeatedly criticized the conference, saying it would serve no purpose without its participation. "Without Russia's participation, how can we expect substantive discussions and meaningful results? This initiative seems inherently flawed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.