World leaders flock to Switzerland: Has the Summit on Peace in Ukraine failed before it even began?

(Patria) - World leaders flocked to Switzerland today for the long-announced Summit aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

However, apart from a short break from problems at home, not much is expected. Politicians themselves confirmed this in their statements, reports Jutarnji list.

"We will discuss many issues of peace and security, but not the biggest ones. This meeting is like a small plant that needs to be watered, considering that bigger things can grow out of it," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before traveling to Switzerland.

For Polish President Andrzej Duda, one of the goals of the Summit is to bring the understanding of the threat Russia poses to the world closer to distant countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been calling on the world political elite to come to the alpine village of Bürgenstock near Lucerne for months.

However, China decided not to accept the invitation because Russia was not invited to the event, so the Summit, even before it began, seems doomed to failure.

A summit without Moscow, according to Beijing's opinion, is not a fair platform for peace negotiations.

The day before the meeting of the world's political cream, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to steal some media attention by presenting Russia's conditions for starting peace negotiations with Ukraine.

According to them, Ukraine should abandon its accession to NATO and withdraw its forces from four Ukrainian regions to which Moscow claims rights.

Putin stated that he is ready to guarantee the safe withdrawal of Ukrainian units from these areas. However, this proposal was immediately rejected by both Kyiv and Washington.



Unlike the results expected in Switzerland, there were some more significant agreements at the meetings held on Friday.

On Friday, 27 EU member states agreed to "in principle agree" to admit Ukraine (and Moldova) to the European Union.

At the meeting of the Group of Seven countries in southern Italy, bilateral security agreements between the USA and Japan with Ukraine were announced, and it was also agreed that frozen Russian assets in Western banks would be used to help Ukraine.

Even before the guests arrived in Switzerland, analysts agreed that the potential effectiveness of the conference was reduced because China was not coming.

While the arrival of the delegation from Beijing was still uncertain, there was a faint hope that the West would succeed in isolating Russia and forcing it to negotiate.

"This summit calls into question the effectiveness of Ukrainian diplomacy. However, Kyiv has an opportunity to remind the world that Ukraine stands as a defender of the principles of the UN Charter," Richard Gowan, head of the UN at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.

Among the arriving guests were French President Emmanuel Macron, his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Not all European countries sent their heads of government. Foreign ministers are arriving from (pro-Russian) Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania.

Switzerland only announced the full guest list last night, as some confirmations were awaited until the very last moment.

Instead of David Cameron, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ultimately came as the main representative of the UK, who is much more cautious after the fiasco at the celebration of the Allied landings in Normandy.

Sunak, let us recall, left the event earlier and caused a barrage of criticism from the British public for that move.

High representatives were also sent by India, Turkey, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the Holy See.

The heads of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, and Somalia are also arriving. From South America, guests include Javier Milei (Argentina), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Gabriel Boric (Chile), and Daniel Noboa (Ecuador).