China will not attend a Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland next month because it does not meet its expectations, which include both Russia and Ukraine taking part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
Switzerland is seeking broad-based turnout from different parts of the world for the summit in mid-June, which Bern hopes will lay the groundwork for a peace process in Ukraine.
Moscow was not invited and dismisses the talks as meaningless without its participation.
“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 said.
“China has always insisted that an international peace conference should be endorsed by both Russia and Ukraine, with the equal participation of all parties, and that all peace proposals should be discussed in a fair and equal manner. Otherwise it will be difficult for it to play a substantive role in restoring peace.”
China briefed some diplomats this week that it had declined the invitation, saying its conditions had not been met, four sources told Reuters earlier.
The conditions 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.
“We are very sorry that the Chinese side does not use the opportunity to present its position on the platform of the summit in Switzerland,” a spokesperson for the Ukrainian embassy in Beijing said in a statement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested on Thursday that China could arrange a peace conference in which Russia and Ukraine take part.
During a visit to China this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine may use the Swiss talks to try to get a broader group of countries to back Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s demand for a total Russian withdrawal.
Putin also expressed backing for China’s plan for a peaceful settlement of the crisis, saying that Beijing had a full understanding of what lay behind the crisis.
The Swiss foreign ministry said it noted the conditions for China’s participation have not yet been met, particularly as Russia is “currently not involved” in the peace conference.
“For Switzerland, Russia’s involvement in the peace process is also essential. It (the ministry) is working actively to involve Russia in the peace process,” it added.
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