OBBÜRGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Around 80 countries called for “territorial integrity” on Sunday. Ukraine This could provide the basis for a peace deal to end Russia’s two-year war, but some major developing countries were not represented at the Swiss conference, leaving the future of diplomacy unclear.
The joint statement said: Two-day conference Features Russia’s absence, This was an uninvited meeting, and many of those in attendance expressed hope that Russia might join the Roadmap for Peace in the future.
of Total War Since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured, destabilized markets for commodities such as grain and fertilizer, forced millions to flee their homes and widened a rift between Russia, China and other countries on the one hand and Western nations that have imposed sanctions on Moscow on the other.
The conference, billed as a step towards peace, was attended by around 100 delegations, mostly from Western countries, including the presidents and prime ministers of France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Poland, Argentina, Ecuador, Kenya and Somalia. The Holy See was also represented, Vice President Kamala Harris He spoke on behalf of the United States.
India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates were represented by foreign ministers or low-level envoys but did not sign the final document, which focused on issues of nuclear safety, food security and prisoner exchanges. Brazil, an “observer,” did not sign, but Turkey did. China did not attend.
The final document signed by 78 countries states that the UN Charter and “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty can and will be the basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” But that’s an impossible target for Putin, who wants Ukraine to cede more territory and drop its desire to join the NATO military alliance.
Swiss President Viola Amherd told a news conference that a “vast majority” of participants agreed with the final text, which she said “shows what diplomacy can achieve.” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said Switzerland would reach out to Russian authorities, but did not say what message it would send.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the meeting as a “first step towards peace” and said Ukraine was in talks with several countries, without naming them, who had offered to host a “second peace summit”. No date was given.
Zelensky Early this month They accused China, backed by Russia, of trying to disrupt the Swiss meeting, a charge Beijing denies.
Ukraine’s allies now face the challenge of maintaining the momentum toward peace, and Zelenskiy said his national security advisers would meet soon “after which a concrete plan will be drawn up.”
Underscoring war fatigue and other concerns, only about half of U.N. member states participated — a far cry from March 2022, when the General Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution by 141 countries condemning Russia’s aggression and calling for Russian troops to withdraw from Ukraine.
It was not clear why some of the developing countries in attendance did not support the final statement, but they may have been reluctant to anger Russia or sought a middle ground between Moscow and its ally China and Western countries that back Kiev.
“There are some countries that didn’t sign – very few – and they’re playing the game of ‘let’s make peace on concessions,’ which usually means concessions for Ukraine, which basically means accepting Russian demands,” said Volodymyr Dubovik, a Ukraine expert and senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington-based think tank. “They also like this ‘neutral’ position.”
Dubovik said the way forward for Ukraine was to receive assistance – weapons and humanitarian aid – that would improve the situation on the ground and put it in a better position to negotiate.
At the Swiss event, the challenge was to take a tough stance against Russia while paving the way for it to join the peace initiative.
“Many countries wanted representatives of the Russian Federation to be there,” Zelensky said. “At the same time, the majority of countries do not want to shake hands with them (the Russian leadership)… so there are different opinions in the world.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said peace could not be achieved in one fell swoop and claimed Putin was not serious about ending the war.
“He is demanding surrender. He is demanding the transfer of Ukrainian territory, even territory that he does not currently occupy,” she said. “He is demanding the disarmament of Ukraine, leaving it vulnerable to future aggression. No country will accept such outrageous conditions.”
The analysts said: meeting It would have little tangible impact on ending the war. Russia was not invitedChina and Brazil have jointly explored alternative paths toward peace.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Saturday that his country had hosted talks with Ukrainian and Russian delegations on the reunification of Ukrainian children with their families. So far, 34 children have been reunited.
The Ukrainian government believes 19,546 children have been deported or forcibly displaced, and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova Belova, has previously confirmed that at least 2,000 have been taken from Ukrainian orphanages.
In Kiev, where regular demonstrations have been held by relatives of soldiers captured by Russia, the Swiss rally drew a lukewarm response.
“I would like to believe that this (conference) will have an impact, but some very important countries did not sign the joint statement,” said Yana Siroki, 56, whose military man’s son has been detained since 2022. “I really hope that they will find a strong means of exerting influence over Russia.”
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Associated Press writers Derek Gatopoulos, Ilya Novikov and Dmytro Zykhinas in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
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See AP’s coverage of the Ukraine war below: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
