World leaders gather in Switzerland for a peace summit on Ukraine: between hope and pessimism

What is the purpose of the peace summit?

The ‘Conference on Peace in Ukraine’ will take place on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June in Bürgenstock, a spa town on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. The original aim was to agree on a framework within which genuine peace negotiations could be conducted. A proposal with broad international support would further isolate Moscow, while Kiev itself hopes to increase international support for the Ukrainian cause. (Read more below the photo)

Later it became clear that discussions would mainly focus on some less controversial points: food safety (grain trade), the return of prisoners and abducted children and nuclear safety, in particular the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia.

Who’s coming?

More than 90 countries and organizations have pledged to consider a possible path to peace in Ukraine. Nearly 60 heads of state and government act of presence. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are expected, as are Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was initially not going to come, but is now planning to do so. The White House confirmed the arrival of US Vice President Kamala Harris and security adviser Jake Sullivan, who should deal with the disappointment about President Joe Biden’s absence. South Korea and the Philippines may also be present. (Read more below the photo)

However, the presence of non-Western countries is also important to give the summit and a possible final resolution support. Cape Verde and Malawi are said to be the only African countries that have registered so far, according to Ukraine.

Who isn’t coming?

About half of the 160 invited guests stay at home. India is sending only a limited representation, while UN chief António Guterres is staying away from Bürgenstock, as are Brazil, Pakistan, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping does not accept the invitation and does not even send a delegation. However, in order to make the outcome of the peace conference compelling for Putin, the presence of a top delegation from China is necessary. After all, it is the only country that can put pressure on the Kremlin. Since the beginning of the war, it has been clear that China will have to be part of the solution. (Read more below the photo)

How will Moscow react to the summit?

Russia itself has not been invited and has done everything in recent weeks to question the usefulness of the summit. The Kremlin tried to sabotage the conference by pressuring “friendly” countries to cancel. African countries in particular were threatened with sanctions, such as stopping the export of agricultural crops, oil or chemicals.

Russian President Vladimir Putin regularly reiterated that he believes President Zelensky is in power “unconstitutionally” because martial law postponed the presidential elections in Ukraine. He only recognizes parliament and therefore says he cannot conclude agreements with Ukraine because “there is no head of state”. At other times, he has argued that the entire Ukrainian regime is illegal because it came to power after “a coup” in 2014 – when the pro-Russian government was ousted. Whatever is decided at the conference, according to the Kremlin there is no legal partner with which to conclude an agreement.

On Friday, Putin once again lashed out at the meeting, which he sees as a “trick to divert everyone’s attention” from those really responsible for the conflict. In Putin’s eyes, these are the West and the authorities in Kiev. “In this context, I would like to emphasize that without Russia’s participation and without an honest and responsible dialogue with us, it is impossible to reach a peaceful solution in Ukraine and for the security of Europe in general,” the Russian president said.

The Swiss Cybersecurity Office meanwhile reported attacks by pro-Russian hackers on Swiss government websites. The websites of organizations involved in the peace summit have also been affected. However, the impact of the cyber attacks is limited, and the security of the organizations involved or the conduct of the conference itself are not at risk, it said.