Switzerland absent from Ukraine summit in Jeddah
Saudi Arabia is hosting a diplomatic summit this weekend to discuss paths towards a peaceful settlement to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The two-day conference in Jeddah is being attended by national security advisors and other senior officials from some 40 countries, with the aim of finding a “political and diplomatic way” to end the war, according to the Saudi hosts.
Representatives of Ukraine, the US, the European Union, Great Britain, Germany as well as Chile, Indonesia, Egypt and Turkey are expected in Jeddah; Russia was not invited.
As for Swiss non-participation, a foreign ministry spokesman told the Keystone-SDA news agency that the gathering was a follow-up to a previous summit in Copenhagen, which Switzerland also did not attend.
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That said, the Alpine Nation naturally welcomes such events as part of efforts to end the war, the spokesman added. Switzerland is following the talks “closely” and is in contact with Ukrainian authorities.
It also remains willing to offer its good offices as a diplomatic mediator between the conflicting parties if this is requested, the spokesman said.
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Peace plan
The Ukrainian administration said the goal of the Jeddah summit was to find a way to implement president Volodymyr Zelensky’s “peace formula”, whose core demand is a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
Ukrainian, Russian and international officials say there is no prospect of direct peace talks between the two conflict parties at the moment, as the war continues to rage and Kyiv seeks to reclaim territory through a counter-offensive.
Western diplomats also say an endorsement of all of Zelensky’s peace formula is highly unlikely at the talks. But they want to at least get clear backing for principles enshrined in the UN Charter, such as territorial integrity.
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