All you need to know about Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland
Switzerland plans to host a high-level Ukraine peace conference in mid-June. The annoucement comes as Russia and China met in Beijing on Tuesday and reports that US President Joe Biden may attend the Swiss-hosted summit.
Where and when might the summit take place?
After agreeing in January to host a peace summit at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Switzerland announced on Wednesday that an international conference is planned on June 15-16 at the five-star Bürgenstock hotel above Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland.
After an exploratory phase that involved lobbying and consulting with various states to explore options, the Swiss government said in a statement that “conditions are now in place for the conference to be able to initiate a peace process”.
The first step is to develop a “common understanding among the participating states with a view to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine”, the Swiss government said.
During the initial exploratory phase, Switzerland held talks with G7 member states, the EU and representatives of the so-called “Global South”, such as China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, it said.
“The conference aims to establish a forum for a high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter. It aims to create a common understanding of a framework favourable to this objective and a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process.”
What countries may attend?
Since agreeing to host the summit, Switzerland has been lobbyingExternal link other states to encourage the broadest possible coalition to participate.
Zelensky said: “We expect to have 80 to 100 countries… this is the number of countries, I believe, that will be able to at least try to force Russia to a fair peace.”
He admitted that they did not yet have a specific list of countries. “We will agree how it will happen in coming days,” he said.
The logistics are hugely complex, the Ukrainian president said: “Nevertheless, get all of them together, find the format, the way we go forward, and agree on it.”
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reportedExternal link on Tuesday, citing several reliable sources, that Biden would travel to Switzerland for the peace conference.
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Zelensky has previously outlined a ten-point peace plan that envisages the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, withdrawal of all Russian troops, protection of food and energy supplies, nuclear safety, and the release of all prisoners of war.
Bloomberg said it is mainly states from the so-called “Global South” that have signalled interest in participating.
The Swiss government made it clear early on that they considered the participation of the so-called BRICS states – Brazil, India, China and South Africa – to be crucial. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis travelled to China and India in February to promote the conference. Economics Minister Guy Parmelin also discussed the plans during a visit to Qatar. The Bürgenstock Resort belongs to a hotel group that is owned by the Qatari state.
A Swiss foreign ministry spokesperson told Bloomberg: “In addition to the perspectives of Ukraine, Russia and Europe, it is also important to listen to the Global South, which will play a key role in the eventual inclusion of Russia in the process. That is why we are in close contact with China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.”
What about Russian participation?
Russia is unlikely to participate in the first round of discussions, Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd said in February.
Russia had signalled early on that it was not interested. Moscow says it is “pointless” and doomed to fail if it doesn’t take Russia’s interests into account. It says the proposed meeting in Switzerland is also a ruse being used by the West to try to rally international support for Ukraine among the Global South.
Moscow has roundly rejected Zelensky’s peace formula. It says it is willing to enter talks about Ukraine but that these must respect Russia’s security interests and reflect what it calls the “new realities” on the ground, where its forces control just under a fifth of the country and Moscow has claimed four Ukrainian regions as its own.
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Any future participation by Russia is unclear. Last month Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had met officials and diplomats from Switzerland who had assured him that the peace summit would include Russian participation and be conducted on realistic terms.
He said Swiss officials had told him “we understand that nothing can be solved without you, that’s unfair.” And once the plan was turned into a “collective product”, Russia would be invited.
But on Tuesday the RIA news agency, citing the Russian embassy in
Switzerland, reported that Switzerland had not invited Russia to the summit on Ukraine it plans to host, and Moscow would not participate.
What about China’s crucial role?
The big question mark is whether China will attend the Swiss conference, Bloomberg reports.
Wang Shihting, China’s ambassador to Switzerland, told the Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper in March that Beijing was “examining the possibility of taking part”.
Over a year ago, Beijing put forward its own 12-point paper that set out general principles for ending the war but did not get into specifics. It received a lukewarm reception at the time in both Russia and Ukraine, while the United States said China was presenting itself as a peacemaker but reflecting Russia’s “false narrative” and failing to condemn its invasion.
Lavrov has said that China’s peace plan is the most reasonable so far for resolving the war in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the Russian foreign minister met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in a sign of mutual support and shared opposition to Western democracies amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The two sides discussed the war in Ukraine and agreed that international meetings on Ukraine ignoring Moscow’s interests “are futile”, Lavrov told a press conference, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
His Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, repeated China’s calls for a ceasefire and “an end to the war soon”.
“China supports the convening at an appropriate time of an international meeting that is recognised by both Russia and Ukraine, in which all parties can participate equally and discuss all peace solutions fairly,” he told reporters.
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Switzerland plans to organise Ukraine peace summit
Edited by Balz Rigendinger/amva
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