US President Biden plans to skip the Ukrainian peace summit. He will go to California to raise funds for the presidential campaign

US President Joe Biden will most likely miss the Global Peace Summit for Ukraine in Switzerland on June 15-16. Instead, he will go to California to raise funds for the election campaign.

People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity.

A Global Peace Summit for Ukraine is planned for June 15-16 in Switzerland after the meeting of the "Big Seven" countries. Several G7 leaders plan to attend, but neither Biden nor US Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to be there. The leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, was not invited, and the heads of some other countries also plan to miss the summit.

Biden plans to fly from the G7 meeting in southern Italy to Los Angeles for a June 15 fundraiser. During the gathering, he will be joined by, among others, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, former US President Barack Obama and TV host Jimmy Kimmel.

As Bloomberg notes, the decision underscores Bidenʼs deep dive into his campaign as he tries to overcome former US President Donald Trumpʼs lead in key states ahead of the November election. Additionally, last month Trump eclipsed Bidenʼs fundraising efforts for the first time in the current election cycle, raising an additional $76 million on top of the $51 million he previously raised.

And yet, almost 70 countries will participate in the summit, including such leaders as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and probably Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

However, the absence of China is likely to disappoint Zelenskyi. Beijing has long been seen as crucial to the peace process given its close ties to Russia, but it has so far skipped most of the meetings ahead of the summit.

Global Peace Summit

The first Global Peace Summit for Ukraine will be held on June 15-16 in the Swiss city of Burgenstock. The Presidentʼs Office said that the summit will be devoted to the development of a framework to stimulate the future peace process.

Switzerland invited more than 160 delegations from around the world to the summit. The state believes that different views on the path to peace in Ukraine are vital, so the participation of a wide range of countries and their contribution to the discussion will be crucial to achieving these goals.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, believes that it makes no sense to invite Russia to the Peace Summit, as it cannot be guaranteed that it will act in good faith. The Swiss government stated that "at this stage" they do not plan to invite Russia, but Russiaʼs participation is considered mandatory for achieving peace. The Presidentʼs Office said that the summit will produce a joint negotiating position that will be handed over to the Russians.

As CNN Brasil writes, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decided not to go to the peace summit because he believes that "it makes no sense to participate in a summit in which both sides of the conflict do not participate."

Lulu was invited by both the Swiss government and the president of Ukraine. Brazilian diplomacy has always insisted on the need for peace talks, but considers a meeting without the Russians useless.