With the roar of military helicopters in the background and 4,000 Swiss army troops deployed, the leaders of more than a hundred countries arrived this Saturday morning at a luxury hotel in Burgenstock, in the heart of the Alps, to participate in the Peace Summit in Ukraine, hosted by Switzerland this weekend. In an environment shielded by land and air to guarantee security, this is the first meeting with heads of state and government to study the proposal of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, with which he seeks to end Russian aggression and achieve lasting peace. . The presence of a hundred delegations and 57 leaders has been marred by the absence of key countries. Above all, the main actor stands out, Russia, the country that on February 24, 2022 decided to attack its neighbor with a large-scale invasion. Moscow, which from the beginning showed its disinterest in this meeting in Switzerland, has described it as “useless.”
Zelensky appeared before a hundred media present in Burgenstock together with the host of the event, the Swiss federal president, Viola Amherd. The president has considered this summit a “joint success and an opportunity for diplomacy.” “Everything that is agreed today will be part of the peacemaking process that we all need. I think that here, at the summit, we are going to witness how history is made,” he celebrated. Amherd, for her part, has appealed to Russia’s involvement. “If we want to move towards peace, Russia must also get involved at some point,” she said.
The absence of heads of state such as those of Brazil, India and Colombia – President Gustavo Petro announced this Saturday that he will not attend because he believes that doing so would be aligning himself with Ukraine – has deflated expectations about the real weight that this joint declaration may have. of intentions, as well as the idea that this summit would show Russia isolated at a time when the war in Gaza has reduced the visibility of Putin’s aggression and when the Ukrainian army is suffering new military setbacks.
Zelensky has also referred to the countries that have declined to attend Burgenstock with the message that this meeting of more than a hundred leaders shows that joint efforts can stop war and establish peace. The Ukrainian president has highlighted that nations from all continents participate in the meeting and that everyone’s points of view are equally important.
To the absences of China, Russia and Brazil, is added that of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, who has delegated assistance to his vice president, Kamala Harris, who this Saturday announced more than 1.5 billion dollars in energy and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
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Saudi Arabia, for its part, is represented by its Foreign Minister, replacing the crown prince, Mohamed bin Salmán. Another visible absence is that of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, who has sent a lower-level delegation, like South Africa.
Among the hundred leaders who have gone to Switzerland are the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who described the meeting this Friday as a relevant step. “Many peace and security issues will be discussed, but not the most important ones. That was always the plan,” he said in statements to Welt TV reported by Reuters.
A favorable statement to Ukraine
The objective of this meeting of heads of State and Government is to develop a common understanding that lays the foundations for a peace process. A statement will be released from the meeting, a draft of which some details have already been made known through the Ukrainian press. It is a two-page document focused on three issues: nuclear security, food security and prisoners of war and is based on the 10-point initiative presented by the Ukrainian president in November 2022, the so-called “Zelensky formula”. . However, the points that have been modified in recent days are due to other key issues for Ukraine.
The first aspect that stands out is that the statement refers to the “aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.” This is an interesting formulation, because the word “aggression” refers to an international crime in which Russia is the perpetrator and Ukraine is the victim. In the previous draft it was not mentioned.
The second important point is uncompromising respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The statement will predictably establish that the basis for sustainable peace will only be a “solution based on the principle of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all States.” This mention avoids creating a legal window so that Ukraine would have to end up giving up part of its territory to achieve peace with Russia.
Along these lines, the draft establishes that only peace proposals that comply with international law will be studied, that is, that Ukraine recovers the territory defined in 1991, unless the country itself changes its mind. It is also an indispensable condition that the peace proposals comply with the United Nations Charter, and especially with the right of Ukraine to continue defending itself from Russian attacks and to liberate the occupied territories. The previous draft did not clearly define the peace formula, which would open the possibility of discussing proposals that were not so favorable for Ukraine, such as the one offered by China and Brazil, which includes the transfer of Ukrainian territories to Russia.
Regarding Russia’s participation, it has been agreed not to mention the aggressor country, but rather “all parties.” Specific actions are also required on nuclear and food security, whereas previously only “confidence-building” measures were mentioned and references to a second peace summit that hinted at the intention to invite Russia to participate have been removed.
In the section on food security, attacks on merchant or civilian ships in ports and on routes through the Black Sea, as well as on civilian ports and infrastructure, are classified as “unacceptable” and if Russia perpetrates them, its participation in peace initiatives.
The changes made in recent days strengthen the defense of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, more precisely address Russian aggression and maintain strict conditions in case of future Russian participation in future peace talks. However, this draft is not yet final and there is still the possibility of points being changed.
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