by Dave Graham and Tom Balmforth
ZURICH/KYIV (Reuters) – World leaders are expected in Switzerland this weekend to participate, alongside Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, in a peace summit in Ukraine to which Russia has not been invited.
This summit will take place on June 15 and 16 at the luxury hotel Bürgenstock, in the canton of Nidwalden, near Lucerne in central Switzerland.
French President Emmanuel Macron, American Vice-President Kamala Harris and the heads of government of Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Canada and Japan will notably make the trip.
India, which has helped Moscow weather the economic shock caused by sanctions imposed by Western countries over the war in Ukraine, is expected to send a delegation to Switzerland. Turkey and Hungary, which have retained ties with Russia, will be represented by their foreign ministers.
China will be largely absent from this summit, Beijing having declined the invitation sent in January by Volodimir Zelensky to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“This meeting is already a result,” Volodimir Zelensky said on Tuesday, recognizing however the challenge of maintaining international support for Ukraine as the war has entered its third year.
“Bringing together the countries that are our partners and those that are not is, in itself, a difficult mission for Ukraine while the war is no longer in its first month,” said Volodimir Zelensky.
“FUTILE”
Russia considered that the idea of a summit to which it was not invited was “futile”.
Moscow launched in February 2022 what the Kremlin presented as a “special military operation” in Ukraine but which Kyiv and its allies denounce as an invasion.
The idea of a peace summit in Ukraine, launched after Volodimir Zelensky presented a ten-point peace plan in the fall of 2022, was initially welcomed by many countries.
The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, however, slowed this momentum, and Moscow attempted to discredit the summit by questioning its validity.
China and Brazil have since presented a separate peace plan, which includes the participation of both sides in the conflict. Moscow has said it supports China’s efforts to end the war.
Kyiv has made no secret of its frustration with China’s decision not to attend the summit, with Volodimir Zelensky even accusing Beijing of helping Moscow disrupt the event.
The discussions are expected to address issues of food security, freedom of navigation, prisoner exchanges and nuclear security, representatives said.
AND AFTER?
Most discussions around the Swiss summit focused on when and where the next meeting would be held.
Andri Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said this week that a “large number” of countries were already interested. “We are studying the possibility of inviting a representative of Russia to the next summit,” he said.
Switzerland hopes that the Bürgenstock summit opens the way to a “future peace process” in which Russia would participate.
Volodimir Zelensky is attending the G7 summit this week in Italy, where he signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement between their two countries on Thursday with US President Joe Biden.
Switzerland hopes that a joint communiqué will be published at the end of the summit, if a consensus emerges among the participants.
(French version Camille Raynaud)
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