Russia says it will not participate in any event promoting Ukraine’s peace formula

ISTANBUL

Russia said Thursday that it will not participate in any event promoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula, as Switzerland confirmed that it will organize a summit on the 10-step formula later this year.

“We once again confirm and emphasize that Russia will not participate in the Swiss ‘summits’ either at the first or at subsequent stages, regardless of whether it receives an invitation or not,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in response to a reporter’s question on the issue.

Accusing Switzerland of “openly distorting the facts,” Zakharova said the summit is a continuation of talks in the Copenhagen format, which she said “turned out to be untenable.”

“Its organizers unsuccessfully tried to deliver a collective ultimatum to Russia, to put together and expand an anti-Russian coalition through blackmail and deception. It is obvious that now they are also not going to look for ways to peace, much less understand the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis,” she added.

Zakharova went on to say that the West is not interested in a settlement in Ukraine but rather it needs a “strategic defeat of Russia.”

She also said that Switzerland cannot host such platforms for dialogue on a settlement in Ukraine because it has “lost its neutral status and the ability to be a mediator,” adding that Bern has taken actions siding with Kyiv.

“We also urge our partners from the countries of the world majority to be vigilant and refrain from participating in such forums in order to prevent themselves from being drawn into the next anti-Russian provocations of Kyiv and the West, which are not aimed at peace for us, but at continuing the confrontation with Russia,” she said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Swiss Foreign Ministry announced that it will organize a summit on Ukraine on June 15-16 at the Burgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden outside the city of Lucerne, for which it has invited over 160 delegations from around the world.

Zelenskyy's 10-point formula was laid out at the 2022 G20 summit in Indonesia, with its final step being the signing of a peace accord. It also focuses on issues such as nuclear safety and food and energy security.