The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, canceled at the last minute this Saturday (06/15/2024) his participation in the summit for peace in Ukraine that is taking place in Switzerland this weekend and criticized the meeting for seeking to “build blocks for war”. “What we have found in relation to the peace conference, in quotes, in Switzerland is that it is basically an allegiance to the side of the war (…) that is why I have decided to suspend my visit,” the president told the media from Stockholm, where he arrived on a state visit.
“The setting of the Swiss forum is not a free forum to discuss the paths to peace between Russia and Ukraine. Its conclusions are already predetermined. Most of Latin America and the Government of Colombia do not agree with extending the war” , stated the president in his X account from Sweden, where he is on an official visit. The president later also made reference to the war in Gaza.
Petro was scheduled to leave this Saturday from Sweden for the summit in Switzerland, where leaders from 70 countries were scheduled to meet to design a roadmap for peace between Ukraine and Russia, which is not participating in the event. There it was also planned that the Colombian president would meet for the first time with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelensky. “We are willing to participate in a conference that freely dedicates itself to seeking paths to peace and not to building blocks for war,” added the leftist president, who has said he is in favor of a “peaceful” solution to the conflict that broke out. in February 2022.
The peace summit takes place today and tomorrow at the luxurious Bürgenstock hotel complex, where the G7 leaders will attend, with the exception of the president of the United States, Joe Biden. His vice president Kamala Harris will go in his place. Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, which make up the G7, announced this week a loan of $50 billion to kyiv financed with interest on frozen Russian assets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will order a ceasefire and begin negotiations “as soon as” Ukraine begins withdrawing troops from disputed areas and renounces membership in NATO. A proposal rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.
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