80 Countries Back Ukraine’s ‘Territorial Integrity’ At Swiss Peace Summit

(RFE/RL) — Eighty countries have called for the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine to be the foundation of any peace agreement to end Russia’s war in a communique issued on the second and final day of their gathering at a Swiss resort on June 16.

Russia’s absence at the Ukrainian-initiated Global Peace Summit has dampened hopes of any breakthrough, as has China’s decision to stay away.

Participants India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were among those that did not sign the final document, which focused on issues of nuclear safety, food security, and the exchange of prisoners.

The final statement said the UN Charter and “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty…can and will serve as a basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

“We believe that reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties,” it also said.

Viola Amherd, the Swiss president who hosted the event, told the final news conference that the fact that the “great majority” of participants agreed to the final document “shows what diplomacy can achieve.”

On the eve of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued harsh terms for a cease-fire, including that Ukraine hand over control of four regions in areas not only occupied by Russian invading forces, but Ukrainian-controlled regions as well, demands immediately rejected by Kyiv and its Western backers.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the conference was “rightly” titled “Path to Peace” because such a goal will not be achieved in a single step.

“It was not a peace negotiation because Putin is not serious about ending the war. He is insisting on capitulation. He is insisting on ceding Ukrainian territory — even territory that today is not occupied by him,” she said. “He is insisting on disarming Ukraine, leaving it vulnerable to future aggression. No country would ever accept these outrageous terms.”

Speaking at the end of the two-day meeting in Burgenstock, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the support of Western and other leaders demonstrates that the rule of international law can be restored.

“I hope that we can achieve results as soon as possible,” Zelenskiy said. “We’ll prove to everyone in the world that the UN Charter can be restored to full effectiveness.”

Responding to a question from RFE/RL at the final news conference, Zelenskiy said more countries may join the final communique.

“First of all, [the term is] not signing but joining [the final communique]. This is an important difference, because joining the communique means that the communique is open,” he said. “Even countries that are now thinking to join it have consultations ongoing in their respective countries.”

Russian political scientist Aleksandr Morozov told Current Time, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with Voice Of America, that countries such as South Africa and India that did not join the communique are reserving space for their own peace initiatives. He said that while these wouldn’t be bad, they would only prove that Putin’s demands are unrealistic because they disrespect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and thus go against the UN Charter.

In holding the summit, Zelenskiy had been seeking to rally a greater number of countries behind Ukraine’s cause, especially those from the so-called Global South, and maintain world attention on Russia’s brutal invasion. That has become more urgent amid some global fatigue with the 28-month war, fighting in the Middle East, and growing concern about Chinese aggression toward Taiwan.

The June 15-16 summit was the culmination of Zelenskiy’s efforts over the past 19 months to engage global leaders in helping end the biggest war in Europe since World War II.

Switzerland agreed to host the summit with the hope it would pave the way for a future peace process that includes Russia. Zelenskiy did not want Russia to participate at this stage.

At their meeting on June 16, delegates agreed on a final summit declaration that focused on three issues: a call for the need for nuclear and food security and the return of prisoners of war and children removed from Ukraine during the conflict.

Ihor Zhovkva, Zelenskiy’s deputy chief of staff, told reporters on the sidelines of the summit that Kyiv decided to focus on these three issues “because the majority of the international community is united around these positions today.”

“The text is balanced. All of our principled positions on which Ukraine had insisted have been considered,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters on June 16 about the final communique.

“Of course we…understand perfectly that a time will come when it will be necessary to talk to Russia,” he said. “But our position is very clear: We will not allow Russia to speak in the language of ultimatums like it is speaking now.”

The conference was expected to decide the host country for a follow-up conference, but the meeting in Switzerland closed with the location of a second meeting undetermined.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said it was conceivable that a follow-up summit could be held before the U.S. presidential election in November.

Saudi Arabia was believed to be one of the leading candidates, and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on June 15 that the kingdom was ready to assist the peace process, but he warned a viable settlement would hinge on “difficult compromise.”

China, which backs Russia, joined scores of countries that sat out the event. Beijing has said any peace process would require the participation of both Russia and Ukraine, and has put forward its own ideas for peace.

Ukrainian security analyst Alina Hrytsenko told Current Time that China is trying to position itself as a peacemaker and doesn’t believe that either side can achieve a military victory. She pointed out that that Putin’s “peace offer” included a refusal to consider Zelenskiy legitimate, making it unclear under China’s peace initiative who could be Putin’s counterpart in peace talks.

On June 15, on the first day of the Swiss summit, many Western leaders condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, citing the UN Charter in defense of its territorial integrity, and rejecting Putin’s demands for Ukraine to cede land for peace.

“One thing is clear in this conflict: There is an aggressor, which is Putin, and there is a victim, which is the Ukrainian people,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.

“Russia should realize that it has borders, like any other state, and that it has neighbors, like any other state. This international community, the new security architecture, can exist only when the big countries, the biggest of the biggest, recognize their neighbors, respect their neighbors and their territorial integrity,” Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said.

“Sovereignty, territorial integrity, and discrediting aggression as a tool of statecraft are crucial principles that must be upheld in case of Ukraine and globally,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told the opening session on June 15. “That is why I’m concerned about so-called peace plans and initiatives that ignore the core UN Charter principles. We cannot treat Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as somewhat secondary,” Kallas added.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, representing the United States while President Joe Biden attended a fundraiser in California, said Putin’s June 14 “peace” proposal was not a call for negotiations but a call “for [Ukraine’s] surrender.”

Harris also reiterated America’s full backing for Ukraine and announced $1.5 billion in new U.S. assistance for multiple projects, including energy infrastructure and civilian security.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that “peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved without involving Russia” but noted Russia has refused all collective calls for peace.

Ahead of the summit, leaders from the Group of 7 major industrial nations announced a $50 billion loan package for Kyiv that will leverage interest and income from the more than $260 billion in frozen Russian assets.

Biden and Zelenskiy this week signed a security agreement that commits the United States over 10 years to continued training of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Biden, who decided not to attend the summit despite pleas from Zelenskiy, also approved sending Ukraine a second Patriot missile system and imposed another round of financial sanctions on Russia.

The White House also eased restrictions that kept Ukraine from using American weaponry to strike inside Russia, allowing strikes into Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv.

Last month, Russia launched a small-scale offensive in the northern Kharkiv region, seeking to stretch Ukraine’s outgunned and outmanned forces across the roughly 1,200-kilometer front line. The effort has slowed, as Ukraine rushed new units to the area, reinforced positions, and fired on Russian positions across the border.