STORY: :: Dutch PM says Russian President Putin
‘I made a mistake’ by not attending the Ukraine peace summit
:: June 15, 2024
:: Mark Rutte, Prime Minister, Netherlands
“First, he (Putin) should accept the invitation. I think he made a mistake by not being here. This whole process started a year ago with 14 or 15 national security advisors and here we are today with half of the UN and even level of leaders. in many cases from many countries.”
:: Bürgenstock, Switzerland
:: Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark
“Well, you can only find a peaceful solution if you have two partners who seek peace and who want peace and, unfortunately, Russia and Putin do not want peace. Ukraine wants peace. And now we are almost 100 countries that support Una peaceful solution to this conflict. I think it is an important development. It is important for Ukraine. It is important for the whole world, because we need peace in Ukraine and at the same time we need Russia to respect and accept democracy more strongly than European democracies.” .
World leaders gathered at a Swiss mountain resort to try to drum up support for Ukraine peace proposals at the conference skipped by US President Joe Biden, rejected by China and dismissed as a waste of time by Moscow.
More than 90 countries are taking part, but China’s absence in particular has dimmed hopes that the summit will show Russia as globally isolated, while recent military setbacks have put Kiev on the defensive. The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has also diverted the world’s attention from Ukraine.
The talks focus on broader concerns sparked by the war, such as food and nuclear security.
