Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani considers China's decision to abstain from the upcoming Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland on June 15-16 a misstep.
Report informs via Russian media that Tajani expressed his views following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
"I believe that everyone should participate in the peace conference. Peace is a value that all must defend, regardless of preferences. In my opinion, China is making a mistake by refusing," Tajani stated.
The Italian minister emphasized that China should persuade Russia to "sit at the negotiating table" and end military actions.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning declared that China cannot attend the Ukraine conference in Switzerland due to the divergence between Beijing's call for equal participation of both Russia and Ukraine in negotiations and the meeting's agenda.
Swiss authorities plan to hold the Ukraine conference at the Bürgenstock resort on June 15-16. According to Swiss officials, Russia is not among the invited parties to this meeting.