World leaders convened at a Swiss Alpine resort on Saturday to seek broader consensus for Ukraine’s peace proposals. The summit was notably shunned by China and dismissed as a waste of time by Russia, which pushed its own rival ceasefire plans from afar.
More than 90 countries participated, but China’s absence particularly dimmed hopes of portraying Russia as globally isolated. Recent military setbacks have also put Kyiv on the back foot, and the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has diverted global attention from Ukraine.
Discussions at the summit focused on broader concerns triggered by the war, such as food and nuclear security. However, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, both considered potential hosts for future events, emphasized that meaningful progress required Russia’s participation.
A draft of the final summit declaration, seen by Reuters, blames Russia’s “war” in Ukraine for causing “large-scale human suffering and destruction” and urges respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The document, dated June 13, also calls for Kyiv to regain control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and access to its sea ports. Notably, an earlier reference to Russian “aggression” was replaced with “war”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the summit’s attendance as a success and predicted “history being made.”
“Today is the day when the world begins to bring a just peace closer,” he told leaders gathered around a giant rectangular table.
U.S. President Joe Biden sent Vice President Kamala Harris to represent him, a decision that had reportedly frustrated Kyiv. Harris announced more than $1.5 billion in energy and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, where infrastructure has been heavily damaged by Russian airstrikes since the full-scale invasion in 2022.
On the eve of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia would end the war if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over four provinces claimed by Moscow. These conditions, reflecting Moscow’s growing confidence in its military position, were swiftly rejected by Ukraine and its allies.
“He’s calling for surrender,” Harris said, adding, “Let nothing about the end of this war be decided without Ukraine.”
“Freezing the conflict today, with foreign troops occupying Ukrainian land, is not the answer. It is a recipe for future wars of aggression,” added European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
