Sánchez attends the conference on Ukraine, in which he will address food security

Eduardo González The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will participate this weekend in the Peace Conference for Ukraine, the first since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022 and which will bring together almost a hundred countries in Switzerland to debate the search for peace and on issues such as nuclear security, food security and humanitarian affairs. The meeting, which will take place in a hotel complex in Bürgenstock (near Lucerne) amid tight security measures, has been organized jointly by the Governments of Switzerland and Ukraine. Among the attendees is not Russia, which has harshly criticized the holding of the conference, but sources from Moncloa have expressed their hope that this meeting will not be the last of this nature and that Moscow will participate in future editions. The same sources expressed Spain's desire that the hypothetical second conference be held in a southern country. In any case, Moncloa highlights, as a great advance, that this is the first time in two years that an important group of countries has sat down at the table to talk about how to end the war and achieve peace in Ukraine. Representatives from around ninety governments are expected to attend, including the heads of state or government of fifty countries. The objective of the conference, according to the same sources, is not to open negotiations between the parties, but to lay the foundations for the beginning of a process that concludes with a just and lasting peace, in accordance with International Law and the principles of the Charter of the ONU. The conference will begin this afternoon with a plenary meeting in which the hosts and some of the heads of State and Government, including Pedro Sánchez, will participate. Sánchez travels accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. Likewise, tomorrow's sessions, Sunday, will begin with three thematic panels, organized by Switzerland based on the three topics that should generate greater international consensus and that could lay the foundations for a possible peace negotiation: nuclear security, food security and humanitarian affairs. The conference will continue with a plenary session to share what was discussed in the panels. According to the aforementioned sources, Pedro Sánchez will participate in the panel dedicated to food security, with special attention to the impact of war in African countries, affected by the decline in food production and distribution, and in Latin American countries, greatly affected by the increase in prices. For this reason, Moncloa considers the participation in the conference of the presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric, to be “good news”; Colombia, Gustavo Petro; and Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León; and the vice president of Costa Rica, Stephan Brunner. The Government hopes that the debates will translate into concrete actions, although this is in the hands of Switzerland, organizer of the event. On May 6, Pedro Sánchez had a telephone conversation with the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, with whom he agreed on the importance of the Peace Conference for Ukraine and in which he confirmed his "full participation" in this meeting to support the Ukraine's position in favor of a just and lasting peace based on respect for International Law. On May 27, Zelensky made an official visit to Spain to sign with Sánchez the Security Cooperation Agreement between Spain and Ukraine, according to which our country undertakes to send Kyiv a military aid package valued at 1,129 million of euros. The Ukrainian president also held a meeting with Felipe VI, in which he invited the Kings to visit his country “when they can,” according to the Presidency of that country.

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