Argentina's Milei to travel for Ukraine peace summit

Argentina's President Javier Milei speaks at a business event, in Buenos Aires, Argentina June 5, 2024. Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

BUENOS AIRES - Argentine President Javier Milei will participate in the Ukraine peace summit to be held in Switzerland over the weekend, a spokesperson for the leader said on Tuesday.

The libertarian president will first participate in the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy this week before heading to Switzerland. Milei has a good relationship with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy and has sought to forge closer ties with Western nations since taking office last December.

The Argentine leader's attendance had been in doubt, with the right-wing president facing challenges at home pushing his key economic reform bill through Congress where he faces pushback from lawmakers.

Switzerland agreed to host the summit at Zelenskiy's behest, and has tried to drum up support for it among countries that have better relations with Moscow than leading Western powers. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, will not participate.

Source: Reuters