to make peace, “all parties must be involved”, according to the final communiqué of the summit organized in Switzerland

The vast majority of participating countries pledged to do more to protect Ukraine’s nuclear sites, Black Sea trade routes and called for the release of prisoners of war and forcibly displaced people.

“We believe that achieving peace requires participation and dialogue between all parties.” Countries participating in the first Ukraine peace summit, which is being held in Switzerland without Russia, call “to involve all parties” to the conflict to put an end to hostilities, according to the final communiqué published on Sunday June 16.

The text in English, supported by nearly 80 countries out of the hundred participating in this summit, also reaffirms “the principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine”. The signatory countries believe that “the United Nations Charter (…) can and will serve as a basis for achieving total, just, lasting peace in Ukraine”.

These countries therefore claim to have “decided to take concrete measures in the future” in several domains. Among them, the protection of Ukrainian nuclear sites and the refusal to “any threat of use of nuclear weapons”there “free, full and safe circulation” food goods in the Black and Azov Seas and the refusal of attacks on commercial and civil infrastructure on these routes. The statement also calls for the release of “all prisoners of war” of both camps, and on the return to Ukraine of “all Ukrainian children illegally deported and relocated” as well as “all Ukrainian civilians illegally detained”.

The absence of Russia, which continued to denigrate the meeting and which was therefore not invited by the Swiss hosts, was deplored by several of the participants in this summit, notably Saudi Arabia or Kenya again. Before the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would negotiate with Ukraine if the country withdrew its troops from the regions Russia has been demanding to annex since 2022, among other conditions – immediately rejected by kyiv.

“Russia and its leaders are not ready for a just peace. This is a fact”, declared Volodymy Zelensky after the summit. Moscow can negotiate peace “tomorrow, if it withdraws from our territory”recalled the Ukrainian president, who considers that the conditions set by Vladimir Putin for the opening of negotiations are unacceptable. “I would like China to be a friend of Ukraine”also declared Volodymy Zelensky, recalling that “China [absente du sommet pour la paix] is an important state, an important economy which has a real political and economic influence on Russia”.