China says it won’t join Swiss peace conference on Ukraine

China said it will not attend a Swiss peace conference on Ukraine because it does not meet its expectations, which include both Russia and Ukraine taking part.

BEIJING — China will not attend a Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland next month because it does not meet its expectations, which include both Russia and Ukraine taking part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Switzerland is seeking a broad-based turnout from different parts of the world for the summit in mid-June, which Bern hopes will lay the groundwork for a peace process in Ukraine.

Moscow was not invited and dismissed the talks as meaningless without its participation.

“The arrangements for the meeting still fall far short of China’s requests and the general expectations of the international community, making it difficult for China to participate,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a routine briefing.

“China has always insisted that an international peace conference should be endorsed by both Russia and Ukraine, with the equal participation of all parties, and that all peace proposals should be discussed in a fair and equal manner. Otherwise, it will be difficult for it to play a substantive role in restoring peace.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-says-wont-join-swiss-peace-conference-ukraine-rcna154835

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