80 countries have called for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” to be the basis of any peace deal to end the war following the Russian invasion, although some important developing countries participating in the conference did not join them.
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The joint communiqué capped a two-day conference in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, marked by the absence of Russia, which had not been invited but which many participants hoped would join a road map for peace later.
Around 100 delegations, mostly from Western countries, but also a few major developing countries, were present at the conference — and experts were watching to see how and if they could align with the final document.
India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among the participants who did not sign the final document, which focused on issues of nuclear safety, food security and prisoner exchanges.
Brasilan “observer” country, also did not sign, but Turkeywhich sought to act as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine, did so.
The final document states that the Charter of the United Nations and “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty can and will serve as a basis for the establishment of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Viola Amherd, the Swiss president who hosted the event, said at the final news conference that the fact that the “vast majority” of participants approved the final document “shows what diplomacy can achieve.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the “first steps towards peace” at the meeting and said the joint communiqué remained “open for accession by all who respect the UN charter.”
“Little concrete impact”
Analysts say the two-day conference is likely to have little concrete impact on ending the war because the country leading and prosecuting it,in Russia, hasn’t been invited — yet. His main ally, Chinawho was not present, and Brasilwho attended the meeting as an observer, sought together to chart alternative paths to peace.
The meeting also sought to put the spotlight back on the war at a time when the conflict in Gaza, national elections and other concerns have captured the world’s attention.
The three themes of the nuclear safetyof the Food Safety and prisoner exchanges were addressed in the final declaration. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said these were “minimum conditions” for negotiations with Russia, hinting at the many other areas of disagreement between Kyiv and Moscow that will be more difficult to overcome.
Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani recalled a day earlier that his wealthy Gulf country had hosted discussions with Ukrainian and Russian delegations on the reunification of Ukrainian children with their families, which has allowed 34 children to be reunited to date.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking to reporters in the resort town on Saturday, said it would take work and countries would commit to continuing the efforts like Qatar.
“It will take the international community to shine the spotlight, and not just the United States or Europe, but also unusual voices, to say that what Russia has done here is beyond reprehensible and must be reversed,” he said. he declared.
The Ukrainian government estimates that 19,546 children were deported or forcibly displacedand the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, has already confirmed that at least 2,000 of them had been kidnapped from Ukrainian orphanages.
The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, addressed the participants on Sunday: “As a father of three children, I am deeply concerned about the thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred to Russia or the Ukrainian territories occupied by the Russia.
“All of us around this table must do more to bring Ukrainian children back to Ukraine,” he added.
