Ukraine Swiss summit in Jun to be ditched by Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden is not scheduled to attend a mid-June summit in Switzerland aimed at helping forge a path toward peace in Ukraine, sources with knowledge of the situation said Friday, as he appears to have prioritized a fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign.

The expected no-show by Biden is almost certain to be a big disappointment for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hopes to garner broader global support for his country’s fight against Russia’s during the two-day summit, set to begin June 15 at a resort complex situated high above Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland.

Biden is now due to appear with former President Barack Obama at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles on June 15. Ticket sales for the event have recently gone live, with Julia Roberts and George Clooney touted as special guests and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is slated to be the moderator.

Even if the campaign event proceeds as planned, Biden could still participate briefly in the peace summit, but logistical constraints would prevent him from fully committing.

With the U.S. presidential election less than six months away, recent polls show Biden narrowly trailing his predecessor, Donald Trump, in key swing states.

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

Swiss President Viola Amherd said last week that over 50 countries have signed up for the high-level conference, and Bern is trying to attract more.

However, Russia has not been invited to the first gathering of its kind, with the Kremlin saying any peace talks without its participation or consideration of its interests are meaningless.

The inaugural peace summit will be held back-to-back with a three-day Group of Seven leaders meeting in Italy, starting June 13.

The leaders from the world’s major developed democracies, including Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, are due to attend the G-7 summit, where long-term support for Ukraine will be one of the central agenda items.

Many of the G7 leaders, including Kishida and French President Emmanuel Macron, plan to attend the peace summit in Switzerland as well.

Asked during a press briefing on Wednesday whether Biden would be part of the peace summit, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that while he himself had engaged in preparations for the gathering, he could not make any announcements about the president’s travel.