Senior officials, including US Vice-president Kamala Harris and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, are scheduled to attend a peace summit aimed at Ukraine in Switzerland, announced the White House. This comes despite Moscow labelling the conference as “absurd,” while also issuing a warning to potential western military tutors in Ukraine that they could be targeted by Russian forces.
The forum, set to occur on June 15th and 16th, is an event Ukraine hopes to utilise to build global consensus about its strategies to conclude the conflict with Russia. The intention is to subsequently propose it to Moscow at a successive summit.
The Kremlin and Beijing will not be partaking in this month’s peace talks. China holds the view that both conflict-engaged states should be present, while Russia hasn’t been extended an invitation. Ukraine has accused China of assisting Russia in discouraging nations from enrolling for the summit, despite over 100 countries and international agencies confirming their presence.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin’s spokesman, deemed the event as pointless on Tuesday. He dismissed the idea of discussing the Ukrainian situation without Russia’s input as preposterous. He also denigrated the gathering, suggesting that it had no likelihood of achieving any outcome and would be a waste of time, labeling it a ‘futile activity and a pointless endeavour.’
According to Russia, it’s open to discussing the termination of the conflict, but the prerequisites are that Ukraine and the world acknowledge the “new realities” on the ground. These include the Russian invasion force’s occupation of five regions of Ukraine, either in part or whole.
Peskov further cautioned western nations against sending military trainers to Ukraine in light of signs that France might be planning to assign educators to the nation, either independently or in collaboration with other European countries. He stated that such individuals, regardless of being French or otherwise, would not have any immunity.
Referring to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, he highlighted that they were carrying on with the “special military operation” in line with the purposes and goals laid out by the supreme commander-in-chief. This term is the official label used for the full-scale invasion by Russia, which began in February 2022.
Over a week ago, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of the Ukrainian forces, revealed that he has authorized French military trainers to assist in Ukraine. Yet, Ukraine’s ministry of defence swiftly provided a “correction”, stating that the matter was still being deliberated with France and other nations.
Amidst this, Moscow has issued threats of assault against western nations for furnishing Ukraine with long-range weaponry and permitting its use against military installations within Russian borders.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, issued a warning to American authorities on Monday. He cautioned them against underestimating the seriousness of their potential backlash, which could have deadly results.
Mirroring the actions of the US and other nations, Germany has now consented to Ukraine using weapons provided by them to target locations in Russia close to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, on the border. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, defended this decision on Monday, asserting that this wouldn’t escalate the situation further; rather, it was merely about securing significant cities like Kharkiv. He further added, “I’m sure everyone understands the necessity for this defence”.