92 states were represented, 80 countries agreed to a final declaration. This contains hardly anything new, and yet the participants celebrate the meeting as a major commitment to international law and to Ukraine.
92 countries from all over the world and 8 international organizations had announced their attendance. 101 delegations – Switzerland had never organized a conference of this size before this weekend. The “family photo” on Saturday evening with the broad and partly high-caliber field of participants was an initial success for the organizers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky, on whose initiative Switzerland organized the meeting, described the gathering as “historic”, even if the summit only marks the beginning of a lengthy process.
The hope was that the images from Saturday would be followed by substantial results on Sunday: a joint final declaration that would ideally be signed by all representatives present. In the early afternoon it was finally clear that the final Bürgenstock Communiqué would be supported by most, but not all, delegations. 80 states and representatives from 4 international organizations signed the document.
Standing up for international law
The declaration begins with a reminder of the United Nations Charter. “We reaffirm our commitment to renounce the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,” the text states. The principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states within their internationally recognized borders must be respected. This includes Ukraine.
Ukrainian representatives at the conference repeatedly stressed that the country would not accept any compromises that would shake these fundamental pillars. The participants of the conference also never tired of reaffirming that they stand for international law.
Far from these broad lines, the signatories also demanded in the declaration that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops, be protected and they condemned any threat of using nuclear weapons. In addition, the 80 states called for unhindered grain exports from Ukraine, which are of great importance, especially for poor countries in Africa. The 13 African representatives at the Bürgenstock fully supported the final declaration.
Free, unrestricted and safe commercial shipping and access to ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov are crucial for global food security, the summit declaration states. Attacks on commercial vessels in ports and along the entire route, as well as on civilian ports and civilian port infrastructure, are unacceptable.
The signatories also called for the exchange of prisoners of war and the return of children and other civilians abducted to Russia. On the sidelines of the conference, Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to US President Joe Biden, said that Qatar had recently helped arrange the return of around thirty Ukrainian children from Russia. Sullivan represented Kamala Harris on Sunday. The American vice president flew back to the US on Saturday evening. Other high-ranking guests, such as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also left early. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on the other hand, was the last to arrive on Sunday morning.
Important signatures are missing
There was never any doubt that the United States would support the final document. On Sunday morning, Sullivan congratulated Switzerland on the “tremendous success” of this conference.
The situation was different for important states in the so-called global south. Among the countries that did not agree were 6 states from the G-20 of the world’s most important economic powers: India, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Indonesia did not support the summit declaration. Armenia, Bahrain, Thailand, Libya and the United Arab Emirates, Colombia and the Vatican’s envoy also opted out.
Brazil, India, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates are members of the so-called BRICS-plus group. They maintain good relations with Russia, even more than two years after Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Their participation was important for the conference organizers, because their declared goal was to attract as many non-Western states as possible to the Bürgenstock. In order to incorporate their point of view, the last draft of the final declaration, which was circulated on Saturday, had already taken this into account: Russia was not explicitly condemned for its attack.
Follow-up conference in Saudi Arabia has not yet been decided
Both Federal President Viola Amherd and EDA head Ignazio Cassis were tight-lipped about the reasons why these states did not support the final declaration. Various discussions had been held, but only the countries could comment directly on the specific reasons, explained Cassis. The fact that the vast majority of the states present agreed on the Bürgenstock Communiqué shows what diplomacy can achieve with patient work, said Amherd. Regarding Saudi Arabia’s abstention, Finnish President Alexander Stubb explained in an interview with the NZZ that the country could be considered for hosting another peace conference and therefore did not want to compromise its position as a neutral mediator.
According to information from the NZZ, negotiations were already underway before the Bürgenstock conference about whether a possible follow-up conference could take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When asked about this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky said: “Ukraine has good, strong relations with Saudi Arabia.” He was looking forward to a possible next summit in Saudi Arabia.
However, the declaration does not contain any clear statement on a follow-up conference. The signatories do, however, advocate for Russia to be involved in future consultations. However, a date or location for the next summit with Russia is not mentioned.
There was no agreement among the 101 delegations at the summit on the question of when exactly and how Russia should be included in the process in the future. Russia had not been invited to the conference in Switzerland. But shortly before the meeting began, Russian President Vladimir Putin surprisingly made new demands for peace in the war with Ukraine. Among other things, he laid claim to four Ukrainian regions and demanded a guarantee that Ukraine would not join NATO.
This is not an offer of negotiations, but a call for Ukraine to surrender, said various summit participants. Nevertheless, the signatories of the Bürgenstock Communiqué write: “We believe that the inclusion and dialogue between all parties is necessary to create peace.”
Volodymyr Zelensky explained that Russia’s participation in a peace conference would mean that Moscow had decided to end the war. Moscow could negotiate directly with Kyiv tomorrow as soon as it withdraws from the occupied territories, said the Ukrainian president.