Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a speech at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue Summit held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on June 2, 2024.
Nguyen Nhac AFP | Getty Images
SINGAPORE – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday accused China of helping Russia derail an upcoming peace summit by pressuring other countries not to attend.
The peace talks, scheduled for June 15-16 at the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock, will focus on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that began in February 2022.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Zelensky said Russia was using China’s influence in Asia to disrupt the summit.
“Unfortunately, regrettably, Russia used China’s influence in the region, used Chinese diplomats, and did everything it could to sabotage the peace summit,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks, without giving specific examples.
He added: “It is unfortunate that an independent, powerful country like China has become a tool in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.” CNBC has contacted the Chinese Embassy in Singapore for comment.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously stated that it will not attend the peace conference Because it didn’t live up to its expectations. Meanwhile, Moscow canceled the meeting without being invited.
Zelensky also accused Russia of threatening other countries by blocking agricultural exports, chemical products and high energy prices, among other commodities. CNBC has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
Call on Asian countries
In his plenary speech, the Ukrainian president said that the Swiss summit will focus on three points of the ten-point peace plan for Ukraine first announced in November 2022.
He said the summit would focus on nuclear security, food security and the return of abducted Ukrainian children from Russia.
“Time is running out,” he said. “Children grow up in Putin’s land, where they are taught to hate their homeland and told that they have no family, while their loved ones are waiting for them at home.”
While Zelensky said 106 countries would send at least high-level representatives to the summit, he did express disappointment that some world leaders would not attend.
Most notably, the United States has yet to confirm whether President Joe Biden will attend, although Zelensky said it had “high-level” confirmation of its participation.
The Ukrainian president reiterated at a press conference after his speech that he wanted support from Asian countries. “It’s very necessary … every country in your region, we want Asia to know what’s going on in Ukraine. We want Asia to support an end to the war.”
Specific to Singapore, Zelensky said he would meet with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and expressed the hope that Singapore’s leaders would attend the summit in person to support Ukraine.
He said Ukraine had never asked Asian countries to support Ukraine militarily, but he asked for political and humanitarian support, as well as support for Ukrainian civilians.
“All of these have become the basis of our peace program and have developed into a global peace summit. So every leader and every country can show their commitment to peace,” he said.
“Through their participation, the majority of the world’s population can ensure that the agreements reached are truly implemented. In this way, Russia, which started this cruel war, will not be able to push us off the path to ending the war.”
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