The Swiss government recently hosted a peace summit for Ukraine, with around 100 countries and organizations in attendance. However, Russia was not invited to participate, and China rejected the invitation. Despite this, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has expressed the intention to discuss the outcomes of the summit with these countries, as well as other nations that did not attend. The goal is to formulate a joint peace plan that could be presented to a Russian representative during a second summit. The Swiss leadership has emphasized the importance of including Russia in the peace process, although it remains unclear if Russia would be interested in participating in future summits.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova over forced deportations of Ukrainian children. Despite these circumstances, Switzerland has not ruled out the possibility of inviting Putin to the second summit. However, Russia has dismissed the inaugural conference as unnecessary and has stated that it would not attend even if invited. President Putin has outlined his own conditions for peace talks, including Ukraine’s withdrawal from certain territories currently held by the country. In response, Ukraine has rejected this ultimatum, leading to ongoing tensions between the two nations.
In addition to Russia, Ukraine also sought to engage China in the peace summit, but Beijing declined the invitation. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan suggested that China may have rejected the invitation at the Kremlin’s request. Instead of attending the summit, China has put forth its own alternative peace plan, which was initially presented by China and Brazil. This plan calls for a conference recognized by both Ukraine and Russia, aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Despite these challenges, the summit gathered 78 countries and 4 European institutions that signed a joint communique outlining their commitment to peace in Ukraine.
During the summit, the United States announced $1.5 billion in aid for Ukraine, including support for energy infrastructure. Additionally, at least 70 drones were used in an attack on Russia’s Morozovsk airbase, as confirmed by Budanov. Despite efforts to facilitate peace talks, the situation in Ukraine remains complex, with ongoing military actions and conflicting interests among key stakeholders. The rejection of invitations by Russia and China demonstrates the difficulties in achieving a unified approach to resolving the conflict in Ukraine. It remains to be seen how future summits and diplomatic efforts will address these challenges and move towards a peaceful resolution in the region.
