Switzerland awaiting confirmations from 160 Peace Summit invitees

Switzerland has invited over 160 delegations of heads of state and governments to the Global Peace Summit. According to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the list will be published shortly before the Summit begins, reported by Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (ZN.UA).

“The invitations have just been sent out. So it’s too early to say who will participate in the Bürgenstock Summit in June. Our experience shows that confirmations come shortly before the start of events of this scale. The list of participating countries will be published shortly before the summit begins,” the Department said.

The invited participants include members of the G7, G20, and BRICS, countries from all continents, the EU, international organizations such as the UN, OSCE, and the Council of Europe, and two religious representatives from the Vatican and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

“The selection of invited countries aims to ensure the widest possible participation of high-ranking representatives,” the department added. Earlier, the President of Switzerland, Viola Amherd, also announced that China and countries of the Global South (Brazil, India, and South Africa) were invited to the Peace Summit.

Russia has not been invited to the meeting, although Switzerland is convinced that the Kremlin needs to be involved in the peace process, stated the Department in response to a request from Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (ZN.UA).

“At this stage, Russia has not been invited. Switzerland has always demonstrated openness to inviting Russia to this summit. However, Russia has repeatedly stated, including publicly, that it is not interested in participating in this initial summit. The summit in Switzerland aims to initiate the peace process. Switzerland is convinced that Russia should be involved in this process,” the statement reads.

The Ukrainian authorities are also trying to involve more participants in the meeting. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced inviting Argentine President Javier Milei to the Peace Summit.

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) called on Ukrainian communities worldwide to appeal to their governments and leaders with a proposal to participate in this meeting. The Global Peace Summit is scheduled to take place on June 15-16, 2024, at the Bürgenstock resort near the city of Lucerne, Switzerland.