The peace conference on Ukraine, which Switzerland is organizing at the end of next week, is only the beginning of the negotiations, which will most likely be followed by negotiations with Russia, said Swiss President Viola Amherd, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
„It is clear to us that at the end of the conference we will not sign a peace agreement,” Amherd said in a comment published by the German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. Both sides should be at the table for peace talks, she said, referring to the fact that Russia was not invited to participate in the summit in Switzerland. “Then Russia could attend a possible follow-up conference,”, Amherd added.
Switzerland has invited around 160 countries for discussions on possible ways to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, has not received an invitation. Ukraine participates in the conference.
So far, more than 80 countries have confirmed that they will join the meeting in Switzerland, which will take place on June 15 and 16. Moscow has said that Russia would not participate even if it had been invited.
Amherd also said that the conference aims to create a platform for dialogue, where the first step will be to discuss how peace can be achieved in Ukraine. She stated that it will not be about peace in Ukraine in the strict sense of the word, but “only” on humanitarian issues, nuclear safety, freedom of navigation and food security. “We want to build trust and seek solutions to these issues that are important for the civilian population, and then for peace later,”, she said.