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

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, at Capitol Hill on September 21, 2023, in Washington.
| Photo Credit: AP

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a whirlwind return visit to Washington on Thursday to shore up U.S. support for Ukraine, this time facing some Republicans who are now questioning the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has helped keep his troops in the fight against Russian forces.

Mr. Zelenskyy, in long-sleeve olive drab, came to the Capitol to talk privately with Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate at a time that the world is watching Western support for Kyiv. He will also meet with President Joe Biden at the White House and will speak with U.S. military leaders at the Pentagon.

House Republican leaders promised tough questions for Mr. Zelenskyy on how he plans to win Ukraine’s counteroffensive against invading Russian forces. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans notably chose not to join in greeting the Ukrainian president before the cameras, leaving House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries to escort Mr. Zelenskyy into the Capitol.

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul said Zelenskyy’s message for a bipartisan group of House lawmakers Thursday was “that he’s winning.”

Speaking to reporters, Mr. McCaul played down growing Republican dissent on continuing to support Ukraine with money and arms, saying, “The majority of the majority support this.”

But Mr. McCaul said lawmakers needed confidence that there was a clear strategy for victory for Ukraine.

“War of attrition is not going to win this,” Mr. McCaul said. “That’s what Putin wants,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He wants to break the will of the American people and the Europeans.”

It is Mr. Zelenskyy’s second visit to Washington since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and comes as Mr. Biden’s request to Congress for an additional $24 billion for Ukraine’s military and humanitarian needs is hanging in the balance. Back home, Russian launched its heaviest strikes in a month in the hours before Mr. Zelenskyy’s arrival at Congress, killing three, igniting fires and damaging energy infrastructure as Russian missiles and artillery pounded cities across Ukraine.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the Ukrainian president “our best messenger” in persuading U.S. lawmakers to keep vital U.S. money and weapons coming.

“It’s really important for members of Congress to be able to hear directly from the president about what he’s facing in this counteroffensive,” Mr. Kirby told reporters Wednesday, “and how he’s achieving his goals, and what he needs to continue to achieve those goals.”

Mr. Biden has called on world leaders to stand strong with Ukraine, even as he faces domestic political divisions at home. A hard-right flank of Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, Biden’s chief rival in the 2024 race for the White House, is increasingly opposed to sending more money overseas.

Mr. Zelenskyy faces challenges in Europe as well as cracks emerge in what had been a largely united Western alliance behind Ukraine.

Late Wednesday, Poland’s prime minister said his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine, a comment that appeared aimed at pressuring Kyiv and put Poland’s status as a major source of military equipment in doubt as a trade dispute between the neighboring states escalates.

Mr. Zelenskyy’s visit comes with U.S. and world government leaders watching as Ukrainian forces struggle to take back territory that Russia gained over the past year. Their progress in the next month or so before the rains come and the ground turns to mud could be critical to rousing additional global support over the winter. Russian President Putin, who believes he can outlast allied backing for Kyiv, will be ready to capitalize if he sees Ukraine is running low on air defense or other weapons

Since the start of the war, most members of Congress supported approving four rounds of aid to Ukraine, totaling about $113 billion, viewing defense of the country and its democracy as an imperative, especially when it comes to containing Putin. Some of that money went toward replenishing U.S. military equipment sent to the frontlines.

Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who traveled to Kyiv this week, said cutting off U.S. aid during the Ukrainians’ counteroffensive would be “catastrophic” to their efforts.

“That would clearly be the opening that Putin is looking for,” Mr. Kelly said Wednesday. “They cannot be successful without our support.”

The political environment has shifted markedly since Mr. Zelenskyy addressed Congress last December on his first trip out of Ukraine since the war began. He was met with rapturous applause for his country’s bravery and surprisingly strong showing in the war.

His meeting with senators on Thursday took place behind closed doors in the Old Senate Chamber, a historic and intimate place of importance at the U.S. Capitol, signifying the respect the Senate is showing the foreign leader.

Mr. Zelenskyy received a warmer welcome from both parties on his stop in the Senate. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer flanked him as he walked in. A few lawmakers of both parties wore clothes with blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Mr. McCarthy, who faces more opposition within his Trump-aligned ranks to supporting Ukraine, arranged a separate meeting with Zelenskyy, with a smaller bipartisan group of lawmakers and committee chairmen.

“I will have questions for President Zelenskyy,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters before the visit.

The House speaker said he wanted more accountability for the money the U.S. has already approved for Ukraine before moving ahead with more.

And, Mr. McCarthy said, he wants to know, “What is the plan for victory?”

Rep. Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland who attended the House meeting with Zelenskyy and lawmakers, said that Mr. McCarthy made no promises but that Republicans and Democrats were united in supporting Ukraine.

“I think the message was not necessarily a promise but a determination to make sure that we could help Ukraine win this war for freedom and for all of us,” he said.