the peace conference in Switzerland produced “zero” results, says Russia

“Any serious discussion has no future without the presence of Russia,” warned the Kremlin on Monday.

“If we talk about the results of this meeting, they are close to zero.” The Kremlin criticized, Monday June 17, the outcome of the peace conference on Ukraine, which brought together more than 90 countries in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday, in the absence of Russia and China. “Any serious discussion has no future without the presence of Russia”launched the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov.

The vast majority of countries represented at the Bürgenstock summit in central Switzerland agreed on Sunday that the “dialogue between all parties” and respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity were the path to ending the Ukrainian conflict. The final communiqué did not receive the support of countries such as India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, considered close economic partners of Moscow.

Vladimir Putin declared on Friday that he would negotiate with Ukraine in the event of withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the four regions he claims and when kyiv has given up joining NATO. In the process, his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, rejected what he said was a “ultimatum”. “Right now, Russia and its leaders are not ready for a just peace”he said, assuring that Moscow can negotiate peace “tomorrow, if it withdraws from our territory”.

On the ground, Ukraine judged on Monday that Russia was intensifying its attacks on the eastern front to “maximize troop exhaustion” Ukrainians, before the arrival of Western military aid, notably F-16 fighter planes. Russian forces have, in recent months, gained ground in the border regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv, thanks to a shortage of men and ammunition in Ukraine.