Moscow Calls Switzerland's Ukraine Conference A 'Road To Nowhere'
The Kremlin has issued a comprehensive response to the planned Switzerland-hosted international Ukraine peace conference which the Swiss government formally announced Wednesday as set for June 15-16 at the lakeside Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne.
As we underscored previously, while over 100 nations are to be invited, the one country that can determine the final outcome of the war has not been invited: Russia. "Switzerland’s government said Wednesday it will host a high-level international conference in June to help chart a path toward peace in Ukraine after more than two years of war, in hopes that Russia might join in the peace process one day," The Associated Press reported.
The Russian embassy in Bern has since confirmed in a statement that "the Swiss authorities have not sent Russia an invitation to the conference in Burgenstock."
Because of this, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has characterized the conference as a "road to nowhere" and a sign that the West is not sincere about a willingness to pursue real peace negotiations.
"That this is a road to nowhere, to put it mildly, is obvious to any normal political observer. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin once again made our position clear and understandable during the meeting with Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko," Lavrov explained.
"I have nothing to add. We do not see any desire in Kiev or on the part of its masters to conduct business in a fair way," the top diplomat added while speaking at a press conference in Minsk.
"Instead of direct dialogue without any ultimatums, the West is imposing the so-called Copenhagen process, planning a conference in Switzerland, where, it is explicitly stated, they want to formulate, finalize the infamous 10 points of Zelensky's peace formula and then present it to Russia," the foreign minister said.
Interestingly, he also charged that the Swiss are simply following Washington's orders:
Lavrov pointed out that Switzerland was simply following orders from the United States and its allies.
"I don’t see how it is possible to put a timid deer and a hedgehog in the same cart. It’s hard to imagine," the Russian minister said.
Zelensky has previously laid out Ukraine's "10-point peace plan" which was first presented in 2022. Russia has repeatedly rejected it as a non-starter, given especially it calls for all Russian troops to leave Ukraine and the cede back captured territory. Zelensky has in the past even pressed the 'return of Crimea' issue - which is another impossibility from the Kremlin's point of view.
In February, President Vladimir Putin told American journalist Tucker Carlson that Ukraine Western supporters must understand it is "impossible" to defeat Russia in Ukraine. "Up until now, there has been the uproar and screaming about inflicting a strategic defeat to Russia on the battlefield. But now they are apparently coming to realize that it is difficult to achieve, if possible, at all. In my opinion, it is impossible by definition," he said according to the transcript.
One key country that Switzerland and the Ukrainian government want to see present for the June peace conference is China. Zelensky officials have voiced a desire to see China intervene with Russia to get it to exit Ukraine. If China refuses to attend in June, there can be little hope that the conference will actually produce anything beneficial. But Lavrov in is Friday comments also underscored that China's vision for peace and Ukraine's formula are incompatible.