OBBÜRGEN, Switzerland — On Sunday, almost 80 countries said that any peace deal to end Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine should be based on the country’s “territorial integrity.” However, some important developing countries at a meeting in Switzerland did not agree. It is still not clear how to move forward with negotiations.
The joint communique was the end of a two-day meeting where Russia was not present because it was not invited. A lot of people there said they hoped Russia would join a plan for peace in the future.
There has been a full-scale war since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It has killed or hurt hundreds of thousands of people, shook up markets for goods like grain and fertilizer, forced millions to leave their homes, and caused problems between Russia, China, and some other countries and the West, which has put sanctions on Moscow.
A meeting that was meant to be the start of peace brought together about 100 delegations, most from Western countries. Presidents and prime ministers from France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Poland, Argentina, Ecuador, Kenya, and Somalia were among them. There were also people from the Holy See there, and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke for the US.
India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates—all of which were represented by foreign ministers or lower-level envoys—did not sign the final document. The text was mostly about nuclear safety, food security, and exchanging prisoners. Since Brazil was only a “observer,” it did not sign on. But Turkey did. China didn’t show up.
The last document, which was signed by 78 countries, said that the U.N. Charter and “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty” would be the base for a full, fair, and long-lasting peace in Ukraine. Putin has repeatedly said that this is not possible because he wants Ukraine to give up more land and give up its hopes of joining NATO.
It was said at a news conference that the “great majority” of people involved agreed with the finished document, which “shows what diplomacy can achieve.” Ignazio Cassis, Switzerland’s foreign minister, said that his country would talk to the Russian government, but he didn’t say what they would hear.
At the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the “first steps toward peace.” He also said that Ukraine was in talks with countries that had offered to host a “second peace summit,” but he did not say which ones. There was no schedule given.
Earlier this month, Zelensky said that China, with help from Russia, was trying to hurt the Swiss meeting. Beijing denied the claim.
The next step for Ukraine’s allies is to try to keep the peace process going. He said that national security advisers would get together in the future and that “there will be a specific plan” for what to do next.
Due to war fatigue and other issues, only about half of the countries that are part of the U.N. took part. It’s a long way from March 2022, when 141 countries at the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution asking for Russian troops to leave Ukraine because they didn’t agree with Russia’s invasion.
It wasn’t clear why some developing countries that were there didn’t support the final statement, but they might not want to upset Russia or have tried to find a middle ground between Moscow, China, and the Western powers that support Kyiv.
“Very few people didn’t sign because they are playing the ‘Let’s have peace based on concessions’ game,” Volodymyr Dubovyk, an expert on Ukraine and senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C., said. “By concessions, they usually mean concessions by Ukraine and basically giving in to Russian demands.” “They like this stance of ‘neutrality’ too.”
Dubovyk said that the best way for Ukraine to move forward was to get help, like weapons and food. This would make things better on the ground and give Ukraine a better place in negotiations.
It was important at the Swiss event to be tough on Russia while still letting it join a peace effort.
“A lot of countries… wanted Russian Federation representatives to be there,” Zelensky said. “At the same time, most countries don’t want to shake hands with them (the Russian leaders)…” There are different points of view in the world.
The head of the European Union’s executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that peace won’t come quickly and that Putin isn’t serious about stopping the war.
“He is insisting on giving up.” “He won’t give up any Ukrainian land, not even land that he doesn’t control right now,” she said. “He is determined to disarm Ukraine, which will leave it open to future aggression.” These rules are so bad that no country would ever agree to them.
Due to Russia’s absence, analysts thought the meeting would not have much of an effect on ending the war. China and Brazil have worked together to find other ways to reach peace.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said on Saturday that his wealthy Gulf country had held talks with both the Ukrainian and Russian governments about getting Ukrainian children back with their families. Thirty-four children have been reconnected so far.
The Ukrainian government says that 19,546 children have been sent away or deported against their will, and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner, has already stated that at least 2,000 of them were taken from Ukrainian orphanages.
At a regular protest in Kyiv by the families of soldiers taken by Russia, not many people paid attention to the Swiss group.
“Some very important countries did not sign the communique,” said Yana Shyrokyh, 56, whose son has been held captive since 2022 while serving in the army. “I really want to believe that this conference will make a difference.” “I really want them to find strong ways to affect Russia.”
