Dozens of world leaders met in Switzerland on Saturday for a summit on peace in Ukraine, attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, without Russia's presence, it is viewed as merely a first step in a long process. At the start of the summit, Zelensky expressed hope for achieving "a just peace as soon as possible," emphasizing that "everything agreed upon will be part of the peace restoration process that we all need." He stated, "We will see history realized during this summit."
Switzerland, hosting the two-day summit at the luxurious Bürgenstock resort, aimed to temper expectations, announcing that the meeting would lay the groundwork for a peace path with future summits anticipated involving Moscow. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the summit in a strong speech on Friday, demanding Kiev's surrender before any real peace negotiations.
Zelensky rejected Putin's demands, considering them "an ultimatum... in the style of Hitler," and NATO and the United States immediately dismissed them as well. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the "ARD" broadcasting agency before heading to the summit, "What we need is not a dictated peace, but a fair and reasonable peace that takes into account the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine."
The summit aims to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine, but the absence of strong Russian allies like China may weaken its potential impact. Dozens of Ukraine's allies are participating in the summit, but China decided not to attend after Russia described the summit as a waste of time and expressed disinterest in being present.
Without China, hopes of isolating Moscow have faded, while recent military defeats have left Kiev in a defensive position. Additionally, the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has diverted attention from Ukraine. The discussions are expected to focus on broader concerns raised by the war, such as food and nuclear security and freedom of navigation, with a draft final declaration categorizing Russia as the aggressor in the conflict.
Richard Gowan, UN Director at the International Crisis Group, stated, "The summit risks highlighting the limits of Ukrainian diplomacy. However, it is also an opportunity for Ukraine to remind the world that it is defending the principles of the UN Charter."
On Friday, President Putin declared that Russia would not end the war in Ukraine until Kiev abandoned its aspirations to join NATO and ceded four regions claimed by Moscow, demands that Kiev quickly rejected as tantamount to surrender. Putin's terms seem to reflect Moscow's growing confidence in the advantage of its forces in the war.
Moscow regards what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine as part of a broader conflict with the West, which it claims seeks to subjugate Russia. Kiev and the West reject this characterization, accusing Russia of waging an illegal war. Switzerland, which took on the hosting of the summit at the request of Ukrainian President Zelensky, aims to pave the way for a future peace process that includes Russia.
