Switzerland aims for broader participation at Ukraine peace summit: President Amherd

Switzerland is working to ensure broader participation at the upcoming Ukraine peace conference, Swiss President Viola Amherd said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Amherd said so far more than 50 countries have confirmed their participation in next month's peace conference.

"We are striving for broad participation, of course not only from Western countries, but also from other regions. So far over 50 countries have already confirmed their participation," the president said.

She noted that around half of these countries were from the European continent, but others included countries from the Global South, referring to major emerging powers and developing countries.

"We have countries from South America, Africa, and the Middle East that have already registered. China has not yet confirmed, but we assume that there could be changes until the last moment, we are working hard to ensure that there will be a broad participation," Amherd said.

She also thanked Germany for its support for the Ukraine peace conference, which will take place on June 15-16 at the five-star Burgenstock Hotel above Lake Lucerne.

The conference aims to build on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan, and other proposals based on the UN Charter.

So far, Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have confirmed that they will be attending the conference.

Russia was not invited to the conference, and the Kremlin voiced skepticism about its potential outcomes due to Moscow's exclusion.