Ukraine peace conference bans news agencies from former Soviet countries
The Ukraine peace conference is scheduled to take place on June 15 and 16 at the Burgenstock resort near Lucerne, Switzerland.
RT reported that Russia's Octagon media agency on May 31 quoted an official response from the Swiss government saying that media outlets from most former Soviet states will not be allowed to report on the upcoming Ukraine peace conference hosted by Switzerland.
The source said that the venue chosen for the conference is said to have some “space constraints” and “security requirements,” so the organizers had to limit the number of media representatives to 500. According to Octagon, both Swiss and American security agencies are responsible for ensuring the security of the conference and screening all journalists who plan to attend.
According to Russian media outlets, no journalists from Russia or former Soviet states, including Belarus, Armenia, Moldova, Azerbaijan or five Central Asian countries, were invited to report. Reporters from Southeast Asia also faced some restrictions.
Swiss authorities have not yet commented officially on the issue of media access to the conference. RT also said it could not independently verify Octagon's information.
In a related development, RT said Russian officials have not been invited to the conference. Last week, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said Russia should not be present at the summit because it could try to influence other countries and “hijack” Kiev’s agenda.
Russian officials have previously said they would not attend under any circumstances, citing the fact that the summit would revolve around Mr Zelensky's so-called “peace formula”.
The 10-point plan calls for Russia to withdraw its troops from all territories claimed by Kiev, agree to pay reparations and set up a tribunal to try Russian officials accused of war crimes. Moscow has rejected the initiative as “absurd” and “far from reality”.
More than 160 countries have been invited to the conference in Switzerland, including members of the G7, G20, BRICS and the EU. However, China's Foreign Ministry said earlier on May 31 that it would not send a delegation to the event. Beijing argued that it was important that both Russia and Ukraine participate in any peace conference.
Leaders of several other BRICS nations – including Brazil and South Africa – will also skip the summit. US President Joe Biden is not expected to travel to Switzerland, but is instead expected to attend a fundraising event for the upcoming presidential election.
