Moscow:

The Kremlin said Monday that a Kyiv-led international peace summit on Ukraine that it was not invited to produced “zero” results.

Officials from more than 90 countries gathered in Switzerland this weekend, backing Ukraine’s independence but leaving key questions of how to end the conflict unresolved.

“If we talk about the results of this meeting, then they come down to zero,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

A final document was backed by a vast majority of countries attending the summit, but several countries did not sign it, including Saudi Arabia, India and the United Arab Emirates.

“Many countries understood the lack of perspective of any serious discussion without the presence of our country,” Peskov said.

He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “still open to dialogue and serious discussion.”

Putin last week said Moscow would only join peace talks if Ukraine gave up four of its regions, effectively demanding that it surrender.

The Kremlin launched its full-scale offensive against Ukraine on February 24th, 2022.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Western powers and their allies at a summit in Switzerland denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Sunday, but they failed to persuade major non-aligned states to join their final statement, and no country came forward to host a sequel.

Over 90 countries attended the two-day talks at a Swiss Alpine resort at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, billed as a “peace summit” even though Moscow was not invited.

Russia ridiculed the event from afar. A decision by China to stay away all but assured that the summit would fail to achieve Ukraine’s goal of persuading major countries from the “global South” to join in isolating Russia.

Brazil attended only as an “observer”. And in the end, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Africa all withheld their signatures from the summit communique, even though some contentious issues were omitted in the hope of drawing wider support.

Still, the conference provided Kyiv with a chance to showcase the support from Western allies that it says it needs to keep fighting against a far bigger enemy.

“We are responding to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine not only with a full-scale defense of human life, but also with full-scale diplomacy,” Zelenskiy said.

Leaders including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron gathered at the mountaintop resort of Buergenstock. U.S. President Joe Biden, in Europe for other events last week, did not attend despite public invitations from Zelenskiy.

The frontlines in Ukraine have barely moved since the end of 2022, despite tens of thousands of dead on both sides in relentless trench warfare, the bloodiest fighting in Europe since World War Two.

In her closing remarks, Swiss President Viola Amherd warned that the “road ahead is long and challenging”.

Russia, as it has for weeks, mocked the gathering.

“None of the participants in the ‘peace forum’ knows what he is doing there and what his role is,” said Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and now deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council.

‘Things Can’t Go On Like This’

After initial Ukrainian successes that saw Kyiv repel an assault on the capital and recapture territory in the war’s first year, a major Ukrainian counter-offensive using donated Western tanks fizzled last year. Russian forces still hold a fifth of Ukraine and are again advancing, albeit slowly. No peace talks have been held for more than two years.

“We know that peace in Ukraine will not be achieved in one step, it will be a journey,” European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen said, calling for “patience and determination”.

“It was not a peace negotiation because (Russia’s President Vladimir) Putin is not serious about ending the war, he’s insisting on capitulation, he’s insisting on ceding Ukrainian territory – even territory that today is not occupied.”

In the absence of a clear path to ending the war, Zelenskiy emphasised practical issues, such as nuclear safety and securing food supplies from Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest grain exporters.

The summit’s final declaration called for Ukraine’s control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and its Azov Sea ports to be restored. But in line with the conference’s more modest stated aims, it omitted tougher issues of what a post-war settlement for Ukraine might look like, whether Ukraine could join the NATO alliance or how troop withdrawals from both sides might work.

“The more allies that can be found to say ‘Things can’t go on like this’, ‘This is too much’, ‘That’s overstepping the mark’, that also increases the moral pressure on the Russian Federation,” said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

As Sunday’s talks turned towards issues of food security and nuclear power, some leaders left early.

No country came forward to host another such meeting, with notable silence from Saudi Arabia, mooted as a possible future venue. Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the kingdom was ready to assist the peace process but a viable settlement would hinge on “difficult compromise.”

Since initial peace talks in the first months after the Feb. 2022 invasion, Ukraine has consistently demanded Russia withdraw from all its land, while Moscow has demanded recognition of its rule over territory its forces captured.

Last week, in remarks clearly aimed at the conference, Putin said Russia would not halt the war until Kyiv withdraws its forces fully from four provinces that Moscow only partially controls and claims to have annexed. Kyiv swiftly denounced that as a demand for surrender.

“Of course we…understand perfectly that a time will come when it will be necessary to talk to Russia,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. “But our position is very clear: We will not allow Russia to speak in the language of ultimatums like it is speaking now.”

Western leaders at the summit endorsed Kyiv’s refusal to negotiate under such terms.

“Confusing peace with subjugation would set a dangerous precedent for everyone,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (L), President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Swiss Federal President Viola Amherd, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend the closing press conference during the Summit on Peace in Ukraine on June 16, 2024 in Lucerne, Switzerland.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

The two day Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland ended on Sunday with participants hoping for an end to the war between Moscow and Kyiv. 80 countries and four organisations of the 100 attending delegations supported the final joint communiqué that emerged out of the Path To Peace Summit looking at ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war raging on since February 2022.

India was a notable voice among those who did not sign the document. Current G-20 chair Brazil was in the room only as an observer.

“The ongoing war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine continues to cause large-scale human suffering and destruction, and to create risks and crises with global repercussions,” said the declaration that focused on the three agendas of nuclear safety, global food security and humanitarian issues.

“All prisoners of war must be released by complete exchange. All deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children, and all other Ukrainian civilians who were unlawfully detained, must be returned to Ukraine,” the declaration emphasised.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the diplomatic “success” of the event, and said the path was open for a second peace summit, with a view to ending the war with a just and lasting settlement.

But he told a closing press conference that “Russia and their leadership are not ready for a just peace”.

“Russia can start negotiations with us even tomorrow without waiting for anything — if they leave our legal territories,” he said.

Swiss President Viola Amherd claimed that the communique is ‘a strong signal from the international community for peace based on international law and the UN Charter’.

“Despite our different points of view, we have managed to agree on a common vision. We have set out that vision in the #BürgenstockCommuniqué. I am confident that we will commit ourselves to this process beyond the Bürgenstock, knowing that the road ahead is long and challenging,” President Amherd posted on X ahead of her closing remarks.

In their deliberations during the opening ceremony and plenary sessions, most of the Western bloc leaders struck a similar note in underlining that Ukraine was the victim here, and peace cannot mean surrender referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest conditions to begin negotiations for peace.

The elephant in the room though remained Russia’s absence with Mr. Putin not invited by host Switzerland, leading to questions about the effectiveness of the Path to Peace Summit. It is important to note that Switzerland, unlike China, India or the United States, is also a signatory to the Rome Statute and upholds decisions of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, which has indicted Mr. Putin for alleged war crimes. Mr. Putin’s presence on Swiss soil could have paved the path for his arrest. But the conference did recognise the need to get Moscow to the dialogue table to end the war.

“We believe that reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties. We, therefore, decided to undertake concrete steps in the future in the above-mentioned areas with further engagement of the representatives of all parties,” said the communique.

A day earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in his opening remarks, had insisted that the Summit could have been more result-oriented if the other party to the conflict — Russia — had been there in the room as he offered Turkiye’s willingness to facilitate the process of talks between the warring sides.

Speaking to presspersons on Sunday afternoon, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymitro Kuleba, when asked about Russia, said, “That’s the idea. The next Summit should mean the end of the war. And of course, we need the other side to be at the table. It is clear that to end the war, you need both parties at the table.” However, he stressed that it cannot be peace at all expense, but solutions have to be just and lasting.

Not just Russia, but many leaders are also worried about China aligning with Russia and staying out of the Swiss summit instead of pulling its leverage on Kremlin to end the conflict. President Alexander Stubb of Finland, in an interview with the Finnish Broadcasting Company, made it amply clear.

“That China stayed away is a problem and I appeal to China that they have to do something about it. China’s position, when it comes to Russia, is so strong that everybody knows that if China would give the thumbs down to the things Mr. Putin is doing at the moment, the war would end instantly. A phone call would be enough,” he told the state broadcaster.

Meanwhile speaking to The Hindu, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer hoped that the Summit for peace would find new friends and partners in the future, including India. He welcomed India’s diplomatic participation in the Burgenstock Summit as a beginning and important first step.

“India is so important for us. India is specially very important for Austria. India helped us to become free from the Soviet occupation,” the Chancellor said, tracing back the intervention of Jawaharlal Nehru in favour of Austria in 1953, during its negotiations with the Soviet Union on the State Treaty of Austria. The treaty paved the way for the independence of Austria in 1955.

(With Agence France-Presse inputs)

Smita Sharma is an independent journalist based in Delhi.

On a rainy, misty, damp day up in the Alpine resorts in Burgenstock, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried portraying an upbeat mood. At the inaugural global summit hosted by Switzerland to find a ‘path to peace’ 52 months since the Russian invasion, Mr. Zelenskyy hoped this dialogue would find a resolution to the war. Even though there were notable absentees in the room including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not invited by the Swiss.

“Even If they are not here today at the first summit, we have succeeded in bringing back to the world the idea that joint efforts can stop war and establish just peace. This idea will definitely work because the world has power,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

In his initial remarks to the press at the Media Centre close to the talks venue, Mr. Zelenskyy stressed that ‘views, ideas and leadership of each nation are equally important’. However, the Ukrainian President refused to take questions before the official inaugural ceremony.

“Everything that will be agreed upon today at the summit will be part of the peacemaking process that we all need. I believe that we will witness history being made at the summit,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

First initiated at the Bali G-20 summit in 2021 and followed up with four rounds of talks between National Security Advisors, the attendance count at the first two-day summit in Switzerland stood at 101 countries and organisations including 57 heads of state. The conference kicked off on Saturday afternoon with a plenary session. And on Sunday, working groups will discuss three key agendas — nuclear safety, freedom of shipping and food safety, and humanitarian aspects including prisoners of war. India has shied away from political representation, sending its senior diplomat in charge of the region instead. Brazil, the G-20 Chair is attending it only as an Observer with the envoy present.

Speaking at the event, U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris said: “Russia’s aggression is not only an attack on the lives and freedom of the people of Ukraine. It is not only an attack on global food security and energy supplies. Russia’s aggression is also an attack on international rules and norms and the principles embodied in the UN charter.“

“If the world fails to respond when an aggressor invades its neighbour, other aggressors will undoubtedly be emboldened. It leads to the potential of a war, of conquest, of chaos,” she added.

“Europe is strong in its presence here at the summit. But that is not all. India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kenya and Mexico are also here among others,” Swiss President Viola Amherd said pointing to the wide canvass of representation at the talks amid criticisms of a fractious summit.

While the leaders tom-tom the historic significance of the summit, the expectations remain low key and the mood grim.

Low on expectations

Lotte Krank-van de Burgt, a journalist with the Finnish broadcaster YLE says her people can only hope that the conflict does not further escalate and spill over to immediate neighbours like Finland who have long shared good relations with Russia but are no longer on speaking terms.

“I would not say life has changed so much but maybe we are more worried about our big neighbour in the east. We are more worried about Russia than we have ever been before because it was such a shock that the war started, that they could attack a sovereign country. Everybody was thinking it could have been us also.”

She points to reports of Russian incursions into Finnish and more recently Swedish air space to stress that Moscow is reminding its neighbours of its presence in the region and the looming fear of what could come next.

Liliane Bivings is living the fear daily in Kyiv where she first moved as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in 2017. After COVID-19, she joined the Kyiv Post but as the newsroom shut down when the war began, the team launched Kyiv Independent.

“Right now the situation is quite difficult. The war can be felt quite intensely even in Kyiv which is far from the frontline,” she says with residents subjected to ten hours or more of power outages daily that disrupt their lives and livelihoods. But Ms. Bivings is not hopeful of the summit throwing up concrete solutions with Russia not in the room.

“I don’t want to be too pessimistic but am probably not expecting outcomes. Not just because Russia is not here but mostly because the situation in Ukraine on the battlefield isn’t really one that is conducive to any kind of negotiations,” she said.

“Russia is in a relatively stronger position on the battlefield right now. It does not have any reason to come to the negotiating table. Also there is no appetite in Ukraine yet to give up anything to Russia,” she adds.

On Friday, ahead of the Swiss summit, Mr. Putin demanded the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson for peace negotiations to begin. Ukraine slammed the offer. Ms. Bivings argues Burgenstock will hardly lead to any start of public negotiations between the two warring sides, even on humanitarian issues like swapping of children or prisoners.

“Putin just said that the path to peace for Russia is Ukraine giving up a bunch of territory, and surrendering and giving up any NATO aspirations. Ukraine is not going to do that not only because people don’t want that, but because it will be a bad move for European security, global security,” she says.

Elsewhere in Europe a certain sense of war fatigue is setting in and the gains made by far-right parties in European parliament elections is a sign of worry. The refugee crisis is a divisive issue. Add to it uncertainties about the United States’s policy on Ukraine should Republican contender Donald Trump get a shot back at power and the war persists.

“No one is expecting a peace treaty, that was not on the program anyway. But presence of these highly ranked politicians is a big sign,” says Johannes Ritter of the German Daily FAZ striking a more positive note. But he agrees the economic costs of the war is dragging down the initial high level support on display by ordinary people in Europe.

“We have had an energy crisis which has not really been resolved. We had high inflation which dampened the economic development and led to some insecurity. So one has to be strong and tell people why this is happening. And why it is right to support Ukraine. And why it is more important politically to act than to secure only one’s own wealth,” Mr. Ritter says.

India and the world is looking at the prolonged conflict with increasing worries even as another conflict continues in West Asia. Some 2,000 Ukrainian refugees have sought shelter in Japan more than 8,000 km away. This is a high number compared to refugees in the past welcomed by Tokyo which has taken a pro-Ukrainian stand. In an important move signalling Japanese pride, Toyota ended its vehicle production at its Saint Petersburg plant in Russia in September 2022. Today Prime Minister Kishida is at the Swiss meet confirming his support to Kyiv.

“Japan is looking for some clue which will eventually lead to some ceasefire negotiations in which Ukraine and Russia will both participate. They have to come up with some ideas that eventually will lead to any kind of platform that Russia and Ukraine will both join to talk,” says Masaki Kondo, Senior Editor of Jiji Press.

Switzerland, after not sending an invitation to Russia, has tried a course correction by saying that eventually Moscow will be brought into the fold of talks. The path to peace is under progress and will take a long time to rebuild. Meanwhile, in the midst of summer, Europeans are wary of another long winter looming large.

Smita Sharma is an independent journalist based in Delhi