The latest on Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland

View of the Bürgenstock hotel above Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland that will host the June 15-16 Ukraine peace summit. Keystone / Urs Flueeler

With two weeks to go before the Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace conference, tensions are mounting as non-attendee Russia ratchets up the pressure, China announces it won't attend and questions are asked over which countries are actually sending delegations to Switzerland.

Switzerland is hosting a “Summit on Peace in UkraineExternal link” on June 15-16 at the five-star Bürgenstock hotel above Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland. The Swiss government hopes this will lay the groundwork for a peace process in Ukraine.

Swiss president targeted by Russian disinformation

Defence Minister Viola Amherd – and indirectly the peace conference and Switzerland – has been the target of Russian propaganda ahead of the summit. On May 20 Russia’s leading state television channel, Prevy Kanal, dedicated a one-hour programme to personal attacks against Amherd, who also holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, in an attempt to discredit her and the summit.

Presenter Maria Butina, who is also a Russian politician and was convicted in the United States for espionage, described Amherd as an “egoist and lover of luxury” who, by organising the summit at the Bürgenstock, “cultivates her own agenda in order to pursue her career”, reported the NZZExternal link.

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The programme suggests that Amherd is corrupt, and that she found herself in her position by chance and not because of her skills. The programme described the conference as a “Satanist ball”. The defence ministryhas refused to commentExternal link.

Swiss President Viola Amherd and her guest, Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, inspect the guard of honour of the Swiss Army, on January 15, 2024 in Kehrsatz near Bern, Switzerland. Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle

Switzerland is preparing for Russian cyberattacks against the federal government or Swiss companies and espionage linked to the conference, Swiss public radio, SRF, reportsExternal link.

In the run-up to the conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia is trying to disrupt the peace summit and is piling pressure on countries to stay away.

“It is putting pressure on leaders, openly threatening various countries with destabilisation,” he said. Russia was not invited and dismisses the talks as meaningless without its participation.

+ Switzerland denies Ukraine peace summit ultimatums

This week the Swiss foreign ministry cast doubt on Russian foreign ministry statements that the summit would concentrate on Zelensky’s ten-point peace plan. Russian spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a media conference that Russia had a copy of the summit’s finalised agenda – which still contains nine of Zelensky’s ten points.

Around 900 people are expected on June 15-16 at the Bürgenstock hotel. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

What countries will attend the Ukraine peace summit?

So far, more than 70 states (out of 160 delegations invited), most of them at head of state or government level, have confirmed their participation at the Ukraine peace summit.

“Of these half are currently from Europe and half from the rest of the world. The final list of participating states will not be published until shortly before the start of the conference,” Swiss foreign ministryExternal link spokesperson Elisa Raggi told SWI swissinfo.ch.

Countries and organisations that have confirmed include the European Union, the Council of Europe, India, Germany, Italy, Canada, Spain, Poland, Moldova, Ireland, Iceland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, Luxembourg and Cape Verde. Moscow was not invited.

+ Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky

Switzerland is seeking a broad-based turnout from different parts of the world for the summit, which Bern hopes will pave the way for a peace process in Ukraine. In particular it has been seeking to persuade more Global South countries, including China, to attend.

In parallel, last weekend Zelensky appealed to US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping to join the meeting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for talks in Beijing, China, on May 16, 2024. Sputnik

Summit arrangements ‘fall far short’ of China’s requests

But on Friday Beijing confirmed a Reuters scoop that China would not attend because it does not meet its expectations.

China briefed diplomats this week that the conditions which were not met included that the conference should be recognised by both Russia and Ukraine, there should be equal participation by all parties, and there should be fair discussion of all proposals.

“The arrangements for the meeting still fall far short of China’s requests and the general expectations of the international community, making it difficult for China to participate,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters.

+ Switzerland plans to organise Ukraine peace summit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has suggested that China could arrange a peace conference in which Russia and Ukraine could participate. Beijing put forward a 12-point paper more than a year ago that set out general principles for ending the war, but did not get into specifics. China and Brazil signed a joint statement calling for Russia-Ukraine peace talks last week.

Will US President Joe Biden attend the Swiss-hosted summit?

Washington has signalled support for the summit but has still not confirmed whether Biden will attend. Zelensky said on Tuesday that if Biden missed the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin would applaud his absence.

“I know that the US supports the summit but we don’t know at what level,” the Ukrainian president said in Brussels. “(The) peace summit needs President Biden and so do the other leaders who look at the reaction of the United States. Putin will only applaud his absence, personally applaud it – and standing, at that.”

+ Swiss government told to expel foreign spies

The Financial Times has reportedExternal link “weeks of increasingly strained relations between Kyiv and Washington”. It said Zelensky is frustrated with Biden and this became clear this week, when the Ukrainian president rebuked his US counterpart in unusually blunt terms, saying Biden’s plan to attend a Democrat fundraiser rather than Ukraine’s peace summit on June 15-16 was “not a strong decision”.

Zelensky’s office this week issued a memo to officials and politicians, seen by the FT, that instructs them to criticise both Biden and Xi for not attending the summit. “If they don’t [attend], then what is their real interest?” the memo wrote.

However, days before the peace summit, Zelensky and Biden are expected to sign a bilateral security agreement on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Italy, US officials told the FT.