Swiss summit on peace in Ukraine closes a joint statement without the signatures of many countries of the global south

Surrounded by a picture-postcard alpine landscape atop a Swiss mountain, leaders meeting at the Ukraine peace summit have agreed on a joint communiqué as a result of the event, with Switzerland hoping to pave the way for a peace process and Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking to increase diplomatic pressure on Vladimir Putin, while mobilizing international support for his vision of ending the war.

However, some key countries such as India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Mexico have not signed the final declaration, which underlines Ukraine’s difficulty in the so-called global south. About 80 of the approximately 90 participating countries have adhered to the document, among them the countries of the European Union – including Spain -, the United States and Chile.

The statement revolves around the principle that any peace deal to end the war must respect Ukraine’s “territorial integrity,” a key demand of Kyiv, and affirms that “negotiations between all parties” will be necessary to achieve a lasting settlement. “The Charter of the United Nations, including its principles of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all States, can and will serve as a basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” the declaration says.

Swiss President Viola Amherd called the joint statement “a clear signal to the people of Ukraine and to all those directly affected by the consequences of the war.” “A large part of the international community wishes to make a difference,” she said. “Most importantly, we understand that the path to peace in Ukraine must be pursued on the basis of international law and in particular the Charter of the United Nations.”

Around 100 states and organisations are attending the two-day talks at a tourist resort in Bürgenstock on Lake Lucerne. According to Reuters, some leaders have left early. Russia is not invited and has gone out of its way to call the summit a waste of time. The meeting has also seen a notable absence of China, which is why many have cast doubts on the effectiveness of the meeting.

The summit comes as Russian forces are making modest territorial gains in eastern and northeastern Ukraine after a more than two-year invasion that has killed thousands, devastated cities and forced millions to flee. However, few major results were expected this weekend. A diplomatic solution to the war appears unlikely at the moment: both sides believe they have room to improve their positions militarily, and Russia is sticking to its demand that Ukraine give up its territory, which Kiev is unwilling to accept.

After months of intensive preparations, Ukrainian officials have praised the holding of the summit as a success, calling it “the first step towards a just peace based on the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of international law.” As the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak reiterated this Sunday. “This is a strong position of Ukraine for the future, backed by the support of the West and countries of the global South. “We will continue to work, we will continue to move towards justice.”

Leaders scheduled to be at Bürgenstock include Spanish government chief Pedro Sánchez, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Latin American countries have also been represented, such as Chilean President Gabriel Boric or Argentina’s Javier Miley. However, Colombian President Gustavo Petro canceled his appearance at the last minute, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not there either.

what have they agreed to

The talks this Sunday revolved around the search for a joint position on nuclear and food security and the return of prisoners of war and children deported from Ukraine during the war, three points on which Ukraine decided to focus and bring together the largest number of participants possible, leaving aside complex issues and setting more modest objectives.

The final document refers to Russia’s “war” against Ukraine. It calls on Ukraine to take “full sovereign control” over the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant – the largest in Europe – which Moscow’s troops occupied soon after the invasion began. It also demands the release of all prisoners of war in “full exchange” and the return to Ukraine of all “illegally deported and displaced” Ukrainian children. Regarding food security, he emphasizes that “free, full and safe commercial navigation, as well as access to the ports of the Black and Azov Seas are fundamental”, and also condemns attacks against merchant ships in ports and along the entire route, in contrast to civilian ports and civilian port infrastructure.

Part of the diplomatic push and pull of the summit has been striking a balance in the final declaration, navigating between condemning Russia’s actions and gaining the broadest possible support, a difficult task given countries’ differing views on how to achieve peace. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has described the final text as “balanced” and assured that it took into account all the positions of principle that Kiev insisted on. But the statement has not received unanimous support from the participants.

This Saturday, the Ukrainian president said that, once an action plan is agreed upon, it will be presented to Russia “so that at the second peace summit we can establish a real end to the war.”

Kiev and Bern were hoping to announce hosting of a follow-up conference aimed at building on the momentum of this meeting, which would take place in the wake of other meetings to address the war in Jeddah, Copenhagen, Malta and Davos.

Switzerland, a traditionally neutral country, agreed to host a high-level summit after Zelensky asked it to do so. With this, Berna pursued the stated goal of “launching the peace process and taking detailed steps towards that process” by facilitating discussions “that could lead to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” However, Swiss officials have made clear that this will not be a negotiating forum but rather a high-level conference “to create a jointly supported basis for future negotiations” and have stressed that they hope Moscow will one day join the process.

“We understand very well that there will come a time when it will be necessary to talk to Russia,” said Ukrainian minister Kuleba. “But our position is very clear: we will not allow Russia to speak in the language of ultimatums as it is doing now.”

This Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured that Vladimir Putin does not rule out negotiations with Ukraine, but added that Zelenskyy cannot participate.

Last Friday, on the eve of the summit, the Russian president once again offered a ceasefire without proposing concessions, which many experts saw as a ploy to distort the meeting in Switzerland. Putin put maximalist demands on the table, such as that Kiev hand over the Donbass and the regions to the south that it has partially occupied, as well as abandon its attempt to join NATO, “demilitarization” and “denial”. Many Western leaders have rejected these demands, while officials in the aggressor country have repeatedly said that Moscow is not acting in good faith and have opposed Putin’s approach.