AFP, published on Saturday 24 June 2023 at 4:41 p.m.
Denmark hosts a top-secret meeting organized by Ukraine on Saturday, bringing together several countries, including some that remained neutral after the Russian invasion, to discuss ways to achieve a “lasting peace”.
Very few details were filtered out upstream. Should Danish diplomacy maintain absolute silence on the meeting, a senior US official indicated that White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan would attend.
“Denmark has kindly agreed to host this meeting in Copenhagen,” the source told AFP.
The goal of this meeting, according to a Western official, is to discuss the means of achieving a “just and lasting peace.”
In addition to representatives from countries that have supported Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the European Union is also sending senior officials with the aim of granting Kiev support from countries that are still neutral on the matter.
“We have been working very hard on a peace formula in the G7,” a senior European diplomatic source told reporters. “So the idea is to go beyond that and include key players like Brazil and India” who should be represented in Copenhagen.
“We honestly hope and wish that China will be there,” she added.
– Milestone –
“Right now, Celso Amorim (presidential adviser on foreign policy, ed.) is in Copenhagen, where he is attending a meeting with several other countries to try to start peace talks,” the Brazilian president said. Lula da Silva during a press conference on Saturday morning.
South Africa’s director-general for foreign affairs, Zane Dangor, will also be in attendance, said Clayson Monyela, spokesman for South Africa’s foreign ministry.
Citing sources close to the project, the Financial Times said the meeting could also include officials from Turkey, a NATO member that has good ties with the Kremlin.
India, Brazil and South Africa are part of the BRICS bloc alongside China and Russia, and none of the three have joined Western sanctions against Moscow.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Thursday in Washington, which has been trying to isolate Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The informal talks in Denmark are not expected to result in an official statement, but are seen as a milestone for a summit meeting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan.
According to the EU, which is aiming for a far-reaching net ejection, this summit, the date of which has not yet been set, but which could take place in Copenhagen or Paris in the summer, must be “substantially” prepared.
“We consider it essential to have the widest possible support from the international community,” said the senior European diplomat.
For Kiev, whose counter-offensive launched in early June has yielded only modest gains so far, attracting new support is crucial.
This week, the second conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction in London enabled the mobilization of 60 billion euros for the country, which lies in ruins after more than a year of conflict.