Ukraine Peace Summit: Leaders meet in Switzerland, Russia absent

OBBRGEN, Switzerland (AP) Dozens of world leaders gathered in a Swiss resort on Saturday to discuss how to bring peace to war-torn Ukraine, although any hope of real progress was dashed by Russia's absence.

More than two years in the war, the fighters remain as far from each other as possible as they have ever been, with Kiev sticking to its demands that Russia withdraw from all Ukrainian territory it has seized and Moscow continuing its heavy-handed offensive that has already taken large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Despite Russia's absence from the conference in the Brgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that a measure of the success of the two-day events was bringing back to the world the idea that joint efforts can stop war and establish a just peace.

Those present faced a tricky balancing act, with many condemning Russia for violating international law while defending their positions to leave the door open for Moscow to join future peace talks that could bring an end to of conflict one day.

There are representatives from Latin America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the Pacific, North America and religious leaders here, Zelenskyy said. Now, there is no Russia here. Why? Because if Russia were interested in peace, there would be no war.

We must decide together what a just peace means for the world and how it can be achieved in a truly sustainable way, he said. In the first peace summit, we must determine how to achieve a just peace, so that in the second, we can already decide on a real end to the war.

About half of the nearly 100 delegations were headed by heads of state and government. Analysts said the turnout would be a key indicator of how much traction Ukraine and its staunch Western backers have with the wider international community.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday sought to cast a shadow over the Swiss-Ukrainian initiative for the conference. Some countries such as India, Turkey and Saudi Arabia that have maintained ties, sometimes lucrative, with Moscow, unlike the Western powers that have sanctioned Russia for the war, were also available.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told the conference that credible peace talks would need Russia's participation and would require difficult compromise.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan acknowledged the mistrust between Russia and Ukraine, saying each side views the other's steps (in fluctuating proposals) as an extension of the broader war effort.

Your Excellency, I must also point out that this summit could have been more result-oriented if the other party to the conflict, Russia, was present in the hall, he added.

Entering the country, President Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania, a NATO member that has been one of the strongest backers of the former Soviet republic of Ukraine, said Russian troops must leave Ukraine and that Moscow must be kept responsible for the crimes there and pay reparations. for war damages.

Right now it seems unrealistic, but I think we should stay united and if the international community will push the Russian Federation, anything is possible, he told The Associated Press. I think the situation is very clear: Ukraine must demand territorial integrity.

US Vice President Kamala Harrisrepresenting the United States as President Joe Biden attended a fundraiser in California, repeated America's full support for Ukraine and announced $1.5 billion in new US aid for a variety of projects such as energy infrastructure and civil security.

china, that supports Russia, joined a number of countries participating in the event. Beijing has said that any peace process would require the participation of Russia and Ukraine and has floated own ideas about peace.

In a separate initiative last month, China and Brazil agreed on six joint understandings towards a political solution to the Ukraine crisis, urging other countries to play a role in promoting peace talks to be held in the right time with Russia and Ukraine involved.

The standoff over Ukraine is mired in security for Europe, the continent's deadliest conflict since World War II and great power geopolitics.

US intelligence officials say China has increased sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow is using to make missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weapons to fuel its war effort.

What is clear is that China is not here, and I assume they are not here because Putin asked them not to come, and they obliged Putin, said Biden's top foreign policy adviser, Jake Sullivan. And I think that says something about China's position regarding Russia's war in Ukraine. I think countries should take this into account.

Harris and Sullivan both acknowledged that not all participants were on the same page for a final peace settlement.

Russian troops control nearly a quarter of Ukraine have made territorial gains in recent months. When talks for the Swiss-hosted peace summit began last summer, Ukrainian forces had recently regained large tracts of territory, particularly near the southern city of Kherson and the northern city of Kharkiv.

The conference focuses on three agenda items seen as the least controversial parts of a 10-point peace formula presented by Zelenskyy: Nuclear security, including the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant; possible exchanges of prisoners of war; and global food security. The war has disrupted shipments of food and fertilizer across the Black Sea.

Zelenskyys plan also called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied Ukrainian territory, the cessation of hostilities and the restoration of Ukraine's original borders with Russia, including Russia's withdrawal from occupied Crimea. With the Ukrainians mostly on the defensive these days, they look increasingly distant hopes.

Putin wants any peace deal to be built around a draft agreement negotiated in the early stages of the war that includes provisions for Ukraine's neutral status and limits on its armed forces, delaying talks on areas occupied by Russia. Ukraine's bid to join NATO over the years has weighed on Moscow.

He wants Ukraine to abandon its bid to join NATO and withdraw its forces from regions that Russia illegally annexed in 2022.

The situation on the battlefield has changed dramatically, said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, noting that although Russia cannot achieve its maximalist objectives quickly through military means, it is gaining momentum in the field of the battle.

As world leaders discussed a path to peace in Switzerland, war-torn Ukraine, where shelling killed at least three civilians and wounded 15 others on Friday and overnight into Saturday, regional officials said.

Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's southern Belgorod region, blamed Ukraine in a social media post for bombings that hit a five-story apartment building in the town of Shebekino on Friday, killing five people. There was no immediate comment from Kiev.

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Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Joanna Kozlowska in London contributed to this report.