KYIV: Kyiv has welcomed an announcement from the US that Vice President Kamala Harris will attend an upcoming summit on Ukraine in Switzerland, western media reported. Earlier, Ukraine said that President Joe Biden should take part in the summit.
The head of the president’s office, Andriy Yermak stated that it is important news that Kamala Harris has been confirmed to attend the Peace Summit to be held on 15-16 June in Switzerland.
Andriy Yermak also announced two upcoming meetings between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Biden, without giving more details.
Earlier, China has rejected allegations by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that it was attempting to prevent other nations from attending a planned peace summit on the conflict in Ukraine. Zelensky stated that at a security forum in Singapore on Sunday that China was “working hard today to stop nations from coming to the peace summit” due to be hosted by Switzerland later in June.
Kyiv expresses hope that the summit will help it win broad global support for its vision of the terms required to end Moscow’s invasion.
Beijing criticized the summit last week, saying it would be “difficult” for it to attend if Moscow did not attend it. China’s foreign ministry said that “China’s stance is open and transparent, and there is completely no instance of us pressing other nations”.
President Zelensky said Sunday that over 100 countries and organizations had signed up to the peace conference on Ukraine so far. Beijing insists it is a neutral party in the war and is striving to bring an end to hostilities through talks.
But China has been criticized by Western countries for cultivating strong relations with Russia and giving Russian President Vladimir Putin diplomatic and political cover over the matter, AFP reported.
