China, skipping a weekend summit on a peace plan for Ukraine, has been lobbying governments for its alternative plan, 10 diplomats said, with one calling Beijing's campaign a "subtle boycott" of the global meeting in Switzerland.
Ninety states and organisations have registered to take part in the summit on Saturday and Sunday in the alpine resort of Lucerne, which will seek to build support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's peace proposals, including the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
Moscow, which was not invited to Lucerne, has dismissed the meeting as futile. China, which has close ties to Russia, says it will not attend the conference because it does not meet Beijing's requirements, including the participation of Russia.
China and Russia proclaimed a "no limits" partnership just days before President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Russia's smaller neighbour in February 2022. Beijing says it is neutral in the conflict and has not supplied Moscow with weapons or ammunition.
At a military base in the rural south of the Netherlands, Gen Arnoud Stallmann, a Dutch...
As fighting along the Lebanese-Israeli border escalates, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is warning Israel that if...
In an alert, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reiterated deep concerns that people uprooted by...
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have signed a pact...
