(Burgenstock) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the unfailing support of dozens of leaders gathered around him in Switzerland on Saturday, promised to make peace proposals to Russia once they are validated by the international community.
Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Turkey deplored the fact that Russia, whose summit President Vladimir Putin denigrated, has not yet been invited to Switzerland.
“This summit could have been more results-oriented if the other side to the conflict, Russia, was present in the room,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
But the majority of the nearly 90 countries present reiterated their support for Ukraine and called for a “just peace” based on the United Nations charter.
“When the action plan is on the table, accepted by all and transparent for the people, then it will be communicated to the representatives of Russia, so that we can truly end the war,” Mr. Zelensky promised, the opening of this two-day summit with measured ambitions in the absence of Moscow and Beijing.
Swiss President Viola Amherd called on the international community to “prepare the ground for direct talks between the warring parties.”
A second summit is already being considered, in which Kyiv hopes a Russian delegation will participate.
“The next conference absolutely should not take place without Russia. We have to talk to the enemy,” says Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar, like other countries.
And French President Emmanuel Macron called for “expanding the circle of countries” around the discussion table.
“Ukraine has indicated that it believes this war must end through negotiations” and “that includes negotiations with Russia,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. .
“Now, from Ukraine’s point of view, it is firstly about being in the best possible position on the battlefield in order to be in the best possible position at the negotiating table,” a- he added.
“Together we are taking the first step towards a just peace,” the Ukrainian president said, adding that “the world is stronger” than Vladimir Putin.
Several European leaders have called on other regions to take the measure of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.
“It is very important for us in the West to listen to the voices” which point out that “there are wars” elsewhere in the world which “are raging”, explained Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
“You also have to understand that many of us are worried,” he said, recalling that Russia invaded his country during World War II.
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 French president on Saturday: peace in Ukraine cannot “be a capitulation” of Kyiv.
The meeting in Switzerland is being held in the ultra-chic resort of Bürgenstock, perched above Lake Lucerne.
The final declaration is 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.
Ukraine arrived “in a position of strength” at the summit after the G7 meeting, the 27’s agreement in principle to open EU membership and NATO’s decision to directly pilot military support to Ukraine, according to the Finnish president.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, who represents President Joe Biden returning to the United States after the G7 in Italy, came to the summit with aid of more than $1.5 billion, mainly for the energy sector and for ‘humanitarian aid.
Volodymyr Zelensky has spent the last few weeks pleading his case around the world, from the G7 to Italy, with a $50 billion loan in his pocket.
The funds will be guaranteed by the interest earned on Russian assets frozen since the start of the invasion. For Vladimir Putin, it is “a theft that will not go unpunished”.
The Ukrainian president also signed security agreements with the United States and Japan on the sidelines of the G7, and is once again receiving weapons from the United States after long months of waiting which put his army in great difficulty.
