The US president is set to miss an international gathering in Switzerland next month to attend a fundraiser in Los Angeles
The absence of US President Joe Biden from an international gathering on the Ukraine conflict in Switzerland next month would be a gift to Russia, Vladimir Zelensky has said.
The American leader is set to miss the so-called “peace summit” in Burgenstock Resort in mid-June, and will attend a fundraiser in Los Angeles instead, according to reports in the Western press. Zelensky said on Tuesday that if Biden misses the summit, it would “not be a particularly strong move.”
“The peace summit, other leaders who watch the US reaction, need President Biden,” he told reporters during a press conference in Belgium. Zelensky claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “would be on his feet applauding” the anticipated absence of his American counterpart.
The conference will take place on June 15-16 and will exclude Russia, at the request of the Ukrainian government. Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend the event in Switzerland either, according to Bloomberg. More than 90 nations have confirmed their intention to take part in the summit, according to Zelensky.
Moscow considers the summit to be a “scam” intended to whip up support for Zelensky’s “peace formula” among non-Western nations under false pretenses. It says this document, which was first published in 2022, amounts to a demand for a Russian capitulation in the Ukraine conflict. Even if a Russian delegation were invited, it would not participate in the gathering, the Foreign Ministry has said.
Zelensky made his remarks during a press conference in Brussels, after signing a bilateral security agreement with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. He expects Ukraine to get at least €977 million (over $1 billion) in military aid this year alone. The ten-year deal will also result in Belgium donating 30 F-16 fighter jets, he added.
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