(NewsWorthy.news) – Vice President Kamala Harris is set to attend an international peace conference on behalf of the United States after President Joe Biden was encouraged to join the event.
The Summit on Peace in Ukraine, scheduled to take place on June 15 in Lucerne, Switzerland, is being held to promote support for peace deals endorsed by Volodymyr Zelensky, the nation’s president. Ukraine has been engaged in a war with its neighbor since February 2022, when Russia invaded the since embattled country.
However, the conflict has taken the back seat for international attention since October 2023, when the war between Israel and Hamas broke out and shifted the priorities of world leaders. Russia is not included in the conference, but part of the peace talks will likely discuss the invading nation’s full removal from Ukraine.
Harris’ trip comes a week after Zelensky encouraged Biden to come to the summit, entreating both him and Xi Jinping, president of China, to take a stand as leaders dedicated to “advancing the peace.” The American president, however, is set to attend a campaign fundraiser alongside former president Barack Obama on the same day, which is hosted by Hollywood stars Julia Roberts and George Clooney.
Biden’s lack of attendance at the peace summit was defended by John Kirby, the communications official for American national security agencies, who said that he has stood by Ukraine “more stridently” than any other world leader. He also stated that Harris is being sent to the conference to show the “high level” and “very serious representation” at the peace summit from the United States.
Harris is also expected to “reaffirm support” for Ukrainian civilians who are fighting “ongoing Russian aggression,” according to the vice president’s office. She will be joined by Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor to the president, on the trip.
With her representation, Harris will “underscore” the administration’s determination to support Ukraine in its fight to “secure a just and lasting peace,” said Kirsten Allen, the vice president’s communications director. Harris will maintain support for this in line with Ukrainian “territorial integrity” and sovereignty as well as the stipulations laid out in the charter of the United Nations.
Copyright 2024, NewsWorthy.news
