Exclusive | China and Switzerland in push for Russia to join Ukraine peace summit
- Beijing and Bern share a ‘pragmatic’ view on how to achieve peace, according to sources close to the discussions
- But it’s seen as unlikely that Kyiv or Moscow could accept the other side’s conditions to sit down together for talks
Sources close to the discussions said the two countries shared a “pragmatic” view on how to achieve peace, and that a format without both sides risks becoming the diplomatic equivalent of a “Potemkin village”.
In January, the Swiss government agreed to host a peace summit of world leaders at the request of Ukraine, although no date has been confirmed. It was initially reported that Moscow would not be invited. The talks would build on a series of meetings among national security advisers from dozens of countries held in various locations, only one of which was attended by Beijing.
09:43
Ukraine war two years on: disease, displacement and demands for aid
“We are open to all countries of the world that respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Therefore you can draw conclusions on whom we invite,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told a press conference in Switzerland in January.
But in neither Bern nor Beijing is this seen as a viable way to end the war, which was sparked by a Russian invasion of Ukraine just over two years ago.
Sources from the EU and its member states described the plan as a “non-starter”. While they would ultimately be guided by Kyiv, it is viewed as extremely unlikely that either Ukraine or Russia could stomach the other side’s conditions for sitting down together.
Russia would be welcome to join such talks, “but needs to withdraw its troops from Ukraine first”, said one senior official in a Central European capital.
