Russian Invasion
Selenskyj: First step towards peace taken
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj at a final press conference after the Ukraine Peace Conference. Photo
© Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa
At a summit in Switzerland, many countries expressed solidarity with the attacked Ukraine. Some participants did not sign, but some states that are otherwise close to Russia did.
Ukraine even has a preliminary work plan for the summer months. “We will not slow down, we will keep our communication with our partners as active as ever,” said Zelensky. Ukraine never wanted this war. “But of course it wants a just peace above all.” And it is recognized that this is possible. “We are bringing peace closer.”
93 states and international organizations took part in the meeting in the Swiss luxury resort of Bürgenstock near Lucerne last weekend. A large majority of them supported the final document, which emphasizes the sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
It was also determined that the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is under Ukrainian control. Several important states such as India, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa were represented in Switzerland but did not sign the document. China did not participate.
Kremlin continues to badmouth Swiss peace conference
The Kremlin continues to denigrate the results of the Swiss peace conference for Ukraine. Without Russian participation, the summit could not have produced any results, said Dmitri Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow. “When you talk about the results of this meeting, they are naturally tending towards zero,” he said.
The fact that a number of Russia-friendly states such as Serbia, Turkey and Hungary supported the final declaration does not bother Moscow. “We will of course take into account the position these countries have taken. That is important for us. We will continue to explain our arguments to them,” Peskov said.
The Foreign Ministry in Moscow described the conference as a “complete fiasco,” as the state agency Tass quoted a statement by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. There is no “reasonable alternative” to Putin’s peace proposal. “The West and Kiev must stop misleading the international community with eyewash and tricks,” she said. The sooner the West accepts Putin’s peace plan, the sooner the process of a real solution and ending hostilities will begin. “Otherwise, the conditions for starting negotiations will be much worse for them.”
President Putin’s proposals for the conflict are still on the table, Peskov told the Tass agency. The Kremlin chief had deliberately presented an alleged peace plan the day before the Swiss conference. However, this consisted largely of Moscow’s maximum demands and would mean capitulation for Ukraine. Among other things, Putin demanded that Ukraine withdraw from areas in the east and south that it still controls. It must also renounce NATO membership.