Kamala Harris, at the conference in Switzerland for peace for Ukraine

2024-06-04 10:55:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kamala Harris

US Vice President Kamala Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan will attend the Ukraine Peace Conference in Switzerland on June 15, the White House announced in a statement on Monday.

Vice President Harris will travel to Switzerland to underscore Washington's commitment to territorial integrity and the principles of the UN Charter, said Kirsten Allen, the vice president's communications director.

Vice President Harris will reaffirm American support for the people of Ukraine, who are defending themselves from Russian aggression, the White House statement said.

The Kremlin has repeatedly said that talks on achieving peace in Ukraine should also include Russia, which has not been invited to participate in this high-level meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Philippines on Monday for supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

The Philippines announced that it will participate in the peace conference organized by Switzerland.

"I am grateful to the Philippines for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, for its clear position against Russia's aggression against our country, and for supporting important UN resolutions," President Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader was in Singapore on Sunday and told a security briefing that China was helping Russian efforts to disrupt the peace conference scheduled for June 15-16, pressuring other countries' leaders not to attend.

"These attempts to disrupt the high-level meeting are systematic and on an unprecedented scale, which confirms once again that we are doing the right thing," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Mr. Kuleba added that Russia's efforts to sabotage the meeting were focused on countries in Asia, Africa and South America.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning rejected the accusations on Monday, saying China "believes that all efforts that contribute to the peaceful resolution of the crisis should be supported."

China has called for a Peace Conference with equal participation of all parties, including Russia. Russia has also called Mr. Zelenskyy's peace plan, which calls for the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territories, a fiasco.

Despite its declared neutrality, China's trade with Russia has grown, enabling Moscow to withstand Western economic sanctions.

Ukrainian, US and other intelligence agencies also say there is evidence that parts made in China are being used in Russian weapons, although China is not directly arming the neighboring country./VOA