ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss government said on Thursday that “at this stage” Russia is not among the 160 delegations invited to talks to be held in Switzerland in mid-June aimed at helping bring about peace in the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
“Switzerland is convinced that Russia must be involved in this process,” the Swiss government said in a statement. “A peace process without Russia is not possible.”
The Swiss government said it had always shown openness to inviting Russia but noted that Moscow had repeatedly underlined it has no interest in participating in the first summit.
Russian officials have pointed to Switzerland’s adoption of EU sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, and argued it therefore lacks credibility as a neutral broker.
Switzerland in January said it would host a peace summit at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The invited delegations include members of the G7, G20, BRICS groups, the EU, international organizations and two religious representatives, the Swiss government said.
The government reiterated it aims to create a framework to bring about a lasting peace in Ukraine, as well as a roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process.
The talks will be held June 15-16 at the Bürgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden outside the city of Lucerne.
(Reporting by Dave Graham, Noele Illien, Anastasiia Malenko;Editing by Miranda Murray)
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