Swiss peace summit ends
Selenskyj: If Moscow withdraws troops, negotiations will begin tomorrow
16.06.2024, 16:33
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Of course, the best thing would be for all states to agree. But at least 80 signed the final declaration of the peace summit in Switzerland, thereby sending a strong signal to Kiev and Moscow. President Zelenskyj followed up and suggested talks with Russia.
After the Ukraine conference in Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named a Russian troop withdrawal as a condition for the start of peace negotiations. “Russia can start negotiations with us tomorrow without waiting for anything if it withdraws from our legitimate territories,” Zelenskyy told journalists at the end of the Ukraine conference in Bürgenstock, Switzerland. But he added: “Russia and its leadership are not ready for a just peace.”
However, not all participating states had previously supported the final declaration of the peace summit in Switzerland. According to a list compiled by the Swiss hosts, the document was approved by 80 of the 93 participating states.
Among the countries that did not agree are six states from the G20 group of the world’s most important economic powers: Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, India and Indonesia. Armenia, Bahrain, Thailand, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Colombia and the Vatican also opted out. Turkey, which has tried to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, is one of the signatories.
The UN Charter and “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty” would be the basis for “a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” said the final declaration of the 80 country representatives. In addition, the vast majority of countries also supported the demand for a complete exchange of captured soldiers and the return of deported Ukrainian children. “Food security must not be militarized under any circumstances.” Another important topic at the meeting was the prevention of a nuclear disaster caused by the war, in which, among other things, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in the south was fought over for months. Ukraine must be given full control over the nuclear power plant, the countries demanded in the final declaration.
Amherd: This is what diplomacy can achieve
Zelenskyj praised the fact that “first steps towards peace” had been taken at the meeting. The final document could be signed by everyone who supported the UN Charter.
Swiss President Viola Amherd admitted that the “perspectives and starting positions were very different”. But at least for the first time, a high-level and broadly supported conference had discussed a peace process. Some of the substantive prerequisites for a path to an end to the war in Ukraine had been created. The fact that the vast majority of the states present had agreed on the Bürgenstock Communiqué shows what diplomacy can achieve with patient work, said Amherd.
Selenskyj wants second conference soon
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the conference was rightly entitled “The Road to Peace” because peace will not be achieved in a single step. It was not a peace negotiation because Russian President Vladimir Putin has no real interest in ending the war. He insists on capitulation and the takeover of Ukrainian territory, said von der Leyen. He also wants Ukraine to be disarmed and thus vulnerable. Such conditions cannot be agreed to.
The Ukrainian president expressed similar views. In his opinion, a second meeting should follow soon. The corresponding preparations would only take months, not years, said Zelensky. Some states have already signaled their willingness to host such a summit. The prerequisite for Russia’s participation is that Moscow commits to the UN Charter, said von der Leyen. The final declaration makes no mention of a follow-up conference.
Observers expected the conference to have little impact on Russia’s war in Ukraine because Russia was not invited. The summit was intended to bring the Ukraine war back into focus after the Gaza war and elections attracted international attention.