US President Joe Biden does not believe in the effectiveness of the Swiss conference on Ukraine to which Russia has not been invited, the Global Times has reported.
According to the Global Times, Joe Biden’s absence at the upcoming conference on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict in Switzerland shows that Washington is “not sure of the real effect of the meeting”. The newspaper recalled that US Vice President Kamala Harris and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan would be travelling to the summit instead of the US leader. Global Times called Harris’ presence a gesture of courtesy.
Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the newspaper that Harris has recently become a regular participant in international events related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“This time was no exception, which once again shows that the US is not really sure about this so-called peace summit where Russia is not involved,” the expert pointed out.
The analyst believes that if the Swiss conference turns into a unilateral condemnation of Russia by the West, “its influence will come to naught.”
“In fact, there will be nothing new,” Hongjian noted.
According to him, the outcome of the meeting threatens “not to reflect that Ukraine or the West is ready to push for a genuine ceasefire and peace.” The expert is convinced that the positions of other countries, including non-Western ones, can help to maintain the trend toward peaceful dialogue and “demonstrate the growing force seeking peace.”
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the international community could contribute to the creation of a truly productive peace summit, speaking in favour of the proposed formula of Brazil and China to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. He stressed that the international community needed “more objective, balanced, positive and constructive opinions on the Ukrainian crisis”.