Germany on Peace Summit: Сritical that countries providing no active support to Ukraine take part
The success of the June Peace Summit will largely depend on the scale of the presence of states that are not active supporters of Ukraine.
This was stated by the spokesman for the German federal government, Steffen Hebestreit, who spoke at a briefing on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"Of course, the more countries that are not among Ukraine's close partners are represented in Switzerland, the more successful the prospects will be," Hebestreit said.
He reiterated Chancellor Olaf Scholz's statement that this would obviously be only the first conference before a series of further ones that will be required, so one should not count on Switzerland to specifically draw a peace plan for Ukraine.
At the same time, the adviser noted that Ukraine is actively promoting its 10-point plan presented in the fall of 2022, which is evidence of how much Kyiv is interested in establishing peace.
Speaking about the prospects of China's presence at the Summit, Hebestreit noted that the participation of China and other nations who have not yet confirmed it may become known "24-48 hours before the start of the conference."
He also recalled that during Chancellor Scholz's visit to China last month, Bejing showed interest in "ending this conflict" and that Ukraine's territorial integrity "must be taken into account." Speaking of China's peace plan of 2023, it also refers to this fundamental principle, added the spokesman for the German government.
Hebestreit also emphasized that Scholz and the President of China, Xi Jinping, agreed on four points: the use of nuclear weapons must remain tabooed; there must be no shelling of the ZNPP and other nuclear power plants; grain export is extremely important; eventually there must be an exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia.
"These points, which China agrees with, should also be discussed in Switzerland at a conference in June," the spokesman noted.
He also touched upon Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing.
"The fact that Putin chose China as his first destination after entering his 5th presidential term shows the importance he attaches to that country. And this shows that China has influence on Russia... China's word obviously carries weight in Russia," Hebestreit said.
It should be recalled that the Peace Summit is to be held in Switzerland on June 15-16. The country's president, Viola Amherd, who is visiting Berlin these days, informed that about 50 heads of state and government, including the Chancellor of Germany, have already confirmed their participation.