BURGENSTOCK: Dozens of countries meeting for a landmark international summit on peace in Ukraine agreed on Sunday that Kyiv should enter dialogue with Russia on ending the war, while strongly supporting Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity.
More than two years after Russia attacked, leaders and top officials from more than 90 states spent the weekend at a Swiss mountainside resort for a two-day summit dedicated to resolving the largest European conflict since World War II.
"We believe that reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties," stated a final communique, supported by the vast majority of the countries that attended the summit at the Burgenstock complex overlooking Lake Lucerne.
The document also reaffirmed a commitment to the "territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine". The declaration also urged a full exchange of prisoners of war and the return of deported children.
But not all attendees backed the document, with India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates among those not included in a list of supporting states displayed on screens at the summit.
After world leaders stood together to offer their support on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced hope of garnering international agreement around a proposal to end the war that he could eventually present to Moscow.
The summit focused on Sunday on food security, avoiding a nuclear disaster and returning deported children from Russia as countries outlined building blocks towards ending the war.
The summit, snubbed by Russia, came at a point when Ukraine is struggling on the battlefield, where it is outmanned and outgunned.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded Kyiv's effective surrender as a basis for peace talks.
Putin's call for Ukraine to withdraw from the south and east of the country was widely dismissed at the summit.
But the Kremlin insisted on Sunday that Ukraine should "reflect" on Putin's demands, citing the military situation on the ground.
The Burgenstock talks were framed around areas of common ground between Zelensky's 10-point peace plan presented in late 2022, and UN resolutions on the war that passed with widespread support. The tight remit was an attempt to garner the broadest support by sticking firmly to topics covered by international law and the United Nations charter.
Countries split into three working groups on Sunday looking at nuclear safety and security, humanitarian issues, and food security and freedom of navigation on the Black Sea.
Minds also turned to a potential second summit, at which Ukraine wants to present Russia with an internationally-agreed plan for peace. — AFP
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