China has confirmed it will not participate in a peace conference on Ukraine set to be hosted by Switzerland next month, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Beijing declined the invitation due to unmet conditions for its participation, which included the involvement of both Russia and Ukraine, as stated by three of the sources. The Swiss government, maintaining its stance of neutrality, is aiming for a diverse turnout from various global regions for the summit scheduled for June 15-16. Notably, Moscow was not invited.
During a briefing with diplomats this week, China outlined the conditions that were not met, which included the conference being recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, equal participation by all involved parties, and fair discussions of all proposals, according to one of the sources.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a spokesperson from the ministry stated on Monday that Beijing supports the organization of a peace conference recognized by both sides and involving equal participation from all parties.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that China could potentially arrange a peace conference where both Russia and Ukraine could be present.
In January, Ukraine extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to participate in the planned summit of world leaders in Switzerland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also urged U.S. President Joe Biden to attend the summit this week, though Washington has yet to confirm its representation.
China maintains close ties with Russia and has not openly criticized it’s actions in Ukraine. Nonetheless, Beijing has previously offered to mediate in the conflict.
Requests for comments from the Ukrainian, Russian, and Swiss embassies went unanswered. Switzerland has been trying to persuade more countries from the Global South, including China, to attend the conference.
