Harris to attend summit on Ukraine in Switzerland

This file photo shows U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Switzerland next week to take part in a summit aimed at helping chart a path toward peace in Ukraine, the White House said Monday.

Despite a strong plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Joe Biden will skip the two-day summit to begin June 15 as he is due to be at a star-studded fundraising event for his 2024 reelection campaign in Los Angeles.

Biden’s national security aide Jake Sullivan will join the vice president in representing the United States at the gathering at a resort complex overlooking Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland, according to the White House.

Harris’ communications director, Kirsten Allen, said in a statement that the vice president will underscore the Biden administration’s “commitment to supporting Ukraine’s effort to secure a just and lasting peace, based on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the principles of the U.N. Charter.”

At Ukraine’s request, the neutral Swiss government has invited more than 160 delegations from across the world to join the peace summit.

Zelenskyy has said more than 100 countries and international organizations have confirmed their attendance at the summit focusing on Ukraine’s peace formula.

Russia has not been invited to the first high-level conference of its kind, with the Kremlin asserting any peace talks without its participation or consideration of its interests would be meaningless, and urging other countries to dismiss Zelenskyy’s efforts.

Biden’s plan to be at the June 15 fundraiser with celebrities such as Julia Roberts comes even as he is scheduled to be in Italy for a Group of Seven leaders’ meeting that begins on June 13.

The inaugural peace summit will be held back-to-back with the three-day G7 event.

Biden’s no-show is almost certain to be a big disappointment for Zelenskyy. Over the weekend, the Ukrainian leader made his first trip to Southeast Asia since Russia’s invasion of his country began in an attempt to secure more participation at the peace summit.

In Singapore, where Zelenskyy attended a major security conference, he sought to rally support for the summit and accused China of trying to undermine the event along with Russia.

On Monday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby defended Biden’s plan to skip the peace summit, saying, “Over the last two and a half years, I don’t think you can name another nation that has done as much for Ukraine and for their ability to push back on Russia than the United States.”

“In fact, I know you can’t name another leader around the world who has done more than President Biden has to back up President Zelenskyy in every single way possible,” Kirby told reporters.

He stressed that the U.S. delegation led by Harris is a high-level one and it cannot be said that the Biden administration has in any way walked away from supporting Ukraine.