Among the invited countries, the State Department listed Taiwan. US President Joe Biden noted on several occasions that the US was ready to help Taiwan defend itself in case of a potential Chinese invasion.
Former Soviet states invited to take part in the summit include Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine. Missing from the invite list are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
At the same time, Hungary was the only EU state not invited.
Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Gulf countries are among the most prominent nations not to make the cut, among a number of adversarial states from the so-called global south, such as North Korea, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Sudan and Ethiopia.
The Summit for Democracy will take place on 9 and 10 December and will be hosted virtually by Biden. The summit will focus on the challenges that various democracies face and their opportunities. Leaders from the participating countries will be able to announce individual and collective commitments, reforms and initiatives to shore up democracy and human rights in their home countries.