(Burgenstock) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he would make peace proposals to Russia once they have been agreed by the international community.
“When the action plan is on the table, accepted by all and transparent to the people, then it will be communicated to the representatives of Russia, so that we can truly end the war,” he told the opening of the first peace summit in Ukraine, which is being held this weekend in Switzerland, but without Russia.
American Vice President Kamala Harris, for her part, reiterated the firm commitment of the United States to Ukraine.
“If the world does not react when an aggressor invades his neighbor, other aggressors will undoubtedly become emboldened,” she declared in front of the hundred countries and organizations meeting in Switzerland until Sunday to make a first draft of a peace plan.
Harris, who represents President Joe Biden returning to the United States after the G7 in Italy, came to the summit with more than $1.5 billion in aid, mainly for the energy sector and for humanitarian aid.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin “put forward a proposal. But the truth must be told: he is not calling for negotiations, he is calling for the surrender” of Ukraine.
Kenyan President William Ruto was delighted that “for the first time we are meeting to talk about peace in Ukraine, rather than the war in Ukraine.”
“A commitment to peace makes certain fundamental concessions inevitable,” he stressed, believing that to succeed in making peace there must be a “meeting between friends and enemies.”
“Russia must be at the table,” he insisted. An antiphon taken up by the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“We believe it is important that the international community encourages any progress towards serial negotiations, which will require difficult compromises as part of a road map to peace,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said.
“Any credible process will require Russia’s participation,” he insisted.
As for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he stressed that “peace is not just the absence of war” and he rejected the notion of a “new reality” put forward by the Kremlin, which would ratify the control of 20% of the Ukrainian territory.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also warned that “freezing the conflict” is not a solution but a “recipe for future wars of aggression.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for “defining the principles of a just and lasting peace based on international law and the United Nations Charter.”
“This is the path forward to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities,” he said.
“Whatever is agreed [at this summit] will be part of the peacemaking process that we all need,” Zelensky said Saturday morning, adding: “We will see history being made at this summit.” .
“When the action plan is on the table, accepted by all and transparent to the people, then it will be communicated to the representatives of Russia, so that we can truly end the war,” he told the opening of the first peace summit in Ukraine, which is being held this weekend in Switzerland.
Some 90 countries are participating, but this summit displays measured ambitions in the absence of Russia and China.
But the Russian president de facto set Ukraine’s surrender on Friday as a condition for talks. Demands rejected by Kyiv and its allies, like the head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni on Saturday who described them as “propaganda”.
“The fact that Putin presented this stupid peace proposal yesterday shows that he is clearly panicking,” outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also said when he arrived at the Summit.
Ukraine arrives “in a position of strength” at the summit after the G7 meeting, the agreement in principle of the 27 to open membership to the EU and NATO’s decision to directly pilot military support to Ukraine, Finnish President Alexander Stubb told reporters.
“Writing history is probably a big word, but we have to start writing it,” he said.
Swiss President Viola Amherd, alongside her Ukrainian counterpart, is already looking further than this weekend.
“We can prepare the ground for direct discussions between the warring parties,” she explains. “If we want to inspire a peace process, Russia must also be involved at some point. This is clear to everyone,” she believes.
A second summit is planned, in which Kyiv hopes a Russian delegation will participate.
“The next conference absolutely should not take place without Russia. We need to talk to the enemy,” said Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar.
To gain maximum support, the Swiss tried to invite as many countries as possible, although not without difficulty.
Among the emerging BRICS countries, only Saudi Arabia sends its head of diplomacy. Brazil, India and even South Africa have lower-ranking envoys.
Beijing does not intend to send an envoy in the absence of Moscow.
The meeting, which is being held in the ultra-chic Bürgenstock resort perched above Lake Lucerne, will begin with a plenary session late Saturday afternoon, followed by dinner.
The final declaration is still under discussion. Switzerland has acceded to some requests from Mr. Zelensky and his allies, according to the Swiss agency Keystone-ATS, citing a well-informed Ukrainian source.
On Sunday, three topics will be discussed in working groups: nuclear safety, freedom of navigation and food security, and humanitarian aspects, notably the fate of Ukrainian children deported to Russia.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris denounced this “theft of children”, saying he expected their deportation “to increase as the summer months approach, when we hear disgusting references to programs holiday in Russia”.
Ukrainians are demanding the return of nearly 20,000 minors “deported or forcibly displaced” to Russia.
One of the major themes is to see “how we can bring back deported children” with the help of other states or international organizations, declared Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice.
In Ukraine, on the eastern front of Donetsk, where violent fighting is taking place, soldiers are doubtful about this major diplomatic rally, as are experts.
In Lucerne, located a few kilometers from the Bürgenstock, dozens of people gathered, carrying Ukrainian flags, to demand more efforts for the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Originally from Mariupol, Hanna, who does not want to give her name because her husband was captured two years ago, came from Sweden: “I can’t say that I am very optimistic, but I expect results. There may be exchange processes for prisoners of war,” she said.
