Ukraine seeks show of support at giant Swiss summit
This weekend, a secluded Swiss resort above Lake Lucerne will undergo a significant transformation as dozens of global leaders, along with thousands of soldiers and police, converge on Bürgenstock.
Switzerland hopes that the Ukraine summit could mark the first steps towards a peace process, occurring some 28 months after Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. This summit represents the largest gathering concerning Ukraine since the invasion began.
However, the absence of key players like China and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest ultimatum—demanding Ukraine’s surrender while dubbing it a peace proposal—dampens hopes for substantial progress.
For Ukraine, the very convening of this summit is seen as a positive development. Politicians in Kyiv view each confirmed participant as a symbol of support. They hope the summit will demonstrate to Moscow that the international community stands with Ukraine and upholds international law.
The timing is challenging, with a recent Russian offensive near Kharkiv and intensified missile strikes hitting Ukrainian homes and infrastructure.
The scale of the summit matters greatly, but its substance is equally crucial. Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merezhko from Kyiv emphasizes the need to establish a political and legal framework for future peace, insisting that peace must be pursued within the framework of President Zelensky’s ten-point plan, which prioritizes Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
He is referring to a peace formula put forward in late 2022 by Ukraine’s president that insists on compelling Russia to return all the occupied land.
Ukraine now wants to rally as many countries as possible behind its formula, putting “psychological pressure” on Russia to accept such terms, should it come to that stage.
Right now, that looks unlikely.
This summit was first mooted when the situation on the battlefield looked more promising for Kyiv: a prime time to try to shape the terms of any future peace deal.
Since then the dynamic has shifted.
“I think the constituency that believes this may not be a war that’s winnable for Ukraine is growing,” argues Sam Greene of the Centre for European Policy Analysis, or CEPA.
He points to a “significant chunk” of the US foreign policy establishment who believe Ukraine should “cut its losses”, as well as the rise in support in Europe for right-wing parties more sympathetic to Moscow.
“I think one thing this event is meant to do, is to galvanise support behind Ukraine’s vision of an acceptable outcome,” Professor Greene says.
But the turnout is less promising than Ukraine and Switzerland once hoped.
Joe Biden will not come in person, a decision that upset Mr Zelensky. And the attempts to get key countries from the “Global South” – not instinctive allies of Ukraine – to sign up, were only partially successful.
India, Brazil and China are all either no-shows or sending low level representatives.
Russian officials have been lining up to dismiss the event as insignificant. It is “worthless” and a “dead end”, according to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. But Moscow has been pushing its allies to boycott the summit nonetheless.
“That is a minus,” Oleksandr Merezhko admits. “It seems China decided to support its strategic partner without limits, Russia, not the peace process: the aggressor, not the peace.”
On the eve of the event, Vladimir Putin tried to drop another spanner in the works by outlining his own conditions for a supposed peace: the man who invaded Ukraine, unprovoked, now wants Kyiv to capitulate.
Amongst other things, Mr Putin demands Ukraine hand over all four regions that Russia claims to have annexed, including areas that remain under Kyiv’s control.
Kyiv dismissed that right away as “ludicrous”.
The meeting on Lake Lucerne will home in on three of the least contentious points in President Zelensky’s peace formula: the issues of nuclear security, getting food to global markets and getting abducted Ukrainian children and prisoners back home.
Straying beyond that is unlikely to be productive.
Not right now, when neither Ukraine nor Russia is ready to give up the fight.
“I think from the Ukrainian perspective, looking at what’s going on the frontlines, what they really need is not a commitment to peace, certainly not at any cost,” Sam Greene argues, of Kyiv’s allies.
