Media outlets from most former Soviet states will be barred from covering the upcoming Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace conference, the Russian media outlet Octagon reported on Friday, citing an official response from the Swiss authorities.
The conference is scheduled for June 15-16 at the Burgenstock Resort near Lucerne. The venue chosen to host the event has “space limitations” which, along with the “security requirements,” prompted the organizers to limit media accreditations to 500, the report said.
According to Octagon, both Swiss and American security services are responsible for the safety of the event and for checking all journalists planning to attend.
Not a single journalist from Russia or other post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Armenia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, or the five Central Asian nations was accredited, according to the Russian media outlet. Reporters from Southeast Asia have faced restrictions as well, it added.
The Swiss authorities have not officially commented on the issue of media access to the conference. RT could not independently verify the Octagon report.
Russian officials have not been invited to the conference. Last week, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky said Russia must not be present at the summit because it could seek to sway other countries and hijack Kiev’s agenda.
Russian officials earlier said that they would not attend in any case, citing the fact that the summit would revolve around the so-called Zelensky ‘peace formula’. The ten-point plan demands that Russia withdraw its troops from all territories Kiev claims as its own, agree to pay reparations, and that a tribunal be established to try Russian officials for alleged war crimes. Moscow has dismissed the initiative as “absurd” and “detached from reality.”
More than 160 countries have been invited, including members of the G7, G20, BRICS, and EU. Earlier on Friday, however, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it would not be sending a delegation to the event. Beijing has argued that it is important that both Russia and Ukraine participate in any peace talks.
The leaders of several other BRICS nations – including Brazil and South Africa – will reportedly skip the event as well. US President Joe Biden is not scheduled to go to Switzerland, as he is expected to attend a fundraising event for the upcoming presidential election.