Zelensky hopes for “just peace as quickly as possible”

4:41 p.m.

Negotiations on the final declaration of the Bürgenstock conference on Ukraine are progressing, the head of Swiss diplomacy Ignazio Cassis assured journalists on Saturday. He said he hoped for a “step in the right direction.”

The Federal Councilor also underlined the importance of this conference, according to him the largest organized since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Negotiations around the final declaration will last “until the last minute,” converging sources close to the discussions told Keystone-ATS earlier on Saturday. The text is “consolidating”, they added.

Several scenarios are possible, including a final declaration without consensus which would give each State the opportunity to specify whether it approves or not.

4:14 p.m.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has arrived in Switzerland. He landed at Zurich airport around 4 p.m., according to a Keystone-ATS photographer. From there he continues his journey to central Switzerland, where he will participate in the two-day conference on peace in Ukraine.

4:06 p.m.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Switzerland for the Ukraine peace conference. According to information from a Keystone-ATS photographer, he landed after 3 p.m. at Zurich airport, from where he continued his journey to Bürgenstock (NW).

At the start of the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared his hope of achieving “a just peace as quickly as possible”. “We will see history being made at this summit,” he added.

In the notable absence of Russia and China, this summit displays measured ambitions. “Together we are taking the first step towards a just peace,” declaimed the Ukrainian president, adding that “the world is stronger” than Vladimir Putin.

Alongside her Ukrainian counterpart, the President of the Confederation, Viola Amherd, shared her wish to “inspire a process for a just and lasting peace”, recalling that “Russia must also be involved at some point”.