EU seeks direct talks with Russia after Swiss peace summit

The European Union wants to negotiate with Russia regarding Ukraine. According to Bloomberg, a meeting with Russian representatives will be organized after the peace summit in Switzerland.

The peace summit in Switzerland is scheduled for 15-16 June. The President of Ukraine emphasized that the most important issues for Ukraine to be determined are nuclear energy security, food security, and prisoner exchange.

"Summit that will show who in the world really wants to end the war and not just claim the ceasefire which will inevitably be broken by Russian rockets and artillery just like it was dozens, dozens of times before," said Zelensky.

According to Bloomberg, after this event, the European Union plans to organize a conference about Ukraine. This time, Russian representatives will participate. According to the agency, talks could take place in the autumn in Saudi Arabia.

Representatives from several G7 countries will attend the June summit, among other things. However, neither U.S. President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in the meeting in Switzerland.

Zelensky also appealed for the participation of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. However, according to Bloomberg, China and Brazil planned a "competing initiative" then. Beijing itself stated that it would support any international peace conference on Ukraine but on the condition of Moscow's participation.

China believes the conference should "involve the equal participation of all parties and a fair discussion" about peace plans. "China encourages all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis," the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin is trying to influence countries supporting its actions and exclude the most critical powers from participating in the summit. Brazil and India are suggesting the idea of sending lower-level officials, while Beijing could be represented only by a higher-level official.