Switzerland changes draft decision of Peace Summit in Ukraine's favor, number of participants decreases

European Pravda reports.

On May 28, an amended version of the final document of the upcoming meeting, which had previously been discussed with Ukrainian representatives, was sent from Switzerland to all the capitals of the participating countries. However, that draft reportedly turned out to be dangerous for Ukraine. 

"The key ideas for which the summit was initially organized were removed from it," the statement said.

On June 6, Ukraine stated that the state "will not back down from the Peace Formula." In particular, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized this during his trip to Berlin. 

On June 9, a new draft of the joint communiqué was sent from Bern. It is noted that in the amended document, Switzerland "unexpectedly retreated from many of the positions that it had promoted."

"In the May draft decision of the Peace Summit, there was no mention of the word 'aggression', now the text refers to the 'aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine'. The previous draft decision of the summit, proposed by the Swiss, created a legal window to include Ukraine's renunciation of part of its territory in the conditions of "sustainable peace with Russia," European Pravda says. 

What has been changed

According to the new draft, the basis for sustainable peace will only be "a solution based on the principle of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states."

The journalists also emphasize that the previous draft did not clearly articulate the meaning of the "peace formula," which opened up space for international discussion of alternative "visions of peace," including the Sino-Brazilian one, according to which the strengthening of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should be stopped and hostilities should stop.

The new wording states that only peace proposals that comply with international law - that is, the unconditional return of the 1991 borders, unless revised by Ukraine itself - and the UN Charter, which means Ukraine's unconditional right to continue repelling Russian aggression and liberating the occupied territories, will be taken into account.

"In addition, in the new draft, the Swiss agreed not to mention Russia at all in the provision on peace talks, instead referring to 'all parties'. There is no longer a weakened requirement for "confidence-building measures" but instead "concrete actions" are required. And most importantly, the references to the "second peace summit" that hinted at a commitment to invite Russia to participate in it have been removed," the report says.

European Pravda notes that the current draft is not yet final, there is a possibility of point changes on June 13-14, but at the same time, the publication's sources are inclined to believe that the updated ideology of the decision will remain.

About 15 states have "paused" their participation in the Peace Summit

After the draft decision of the Peace Summit was amended, the number of countries planning to participate in the event decreased. 

In particular, as of June 5, Switzerland officially announced 80 confirmations of participation "at the level of heads of state and government," but according to officials, the total number of confirmed participants exceeded 100. 

Later, this was removed from the event's website, which now says that "about 90 states have confirmed their participation in the Summit for Peace in Ukraine, most of them at the level of heads of state or government."

"Several states are still waiting for the final draft decision of the summit, while others are under pressure from Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been traveling around the world in recent weeks, convincing capitals to join the summit. According to European Pravda's sources, in reality, about 15 states have "paused" their participation," the article says.

In addition, dozens of countries have announced that they will downgrade from the presidential or prime ministerial level to the level of ministers or even deputies.

Peace Summit: details and features of the event

On February 26, Switzerland announced its intention to hold a peace summit in Ukraine by the summer. 

On March 18, Chinese Ambassador to Switzerland Wang Shi-ting said that China is considering participating in the Peace Summit, which is being organized by Switzerland at Ukraine's request.

On May 2, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said that Russia should participate in the Peace Summit, as "a peace process without Russia is unthinkable." However, this time Moscow was not invited to the event.

On May 31, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that her country would not participate in the Peace Summit in Switzerland on June 15 and 16 because it was not approved by Russia. 

 On June 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused China of helping Russia to disrupt the summit diplomatically, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that China and Russia were carrying out large-scale opposition to the Peace Summit. 

Later it became known that the United States was encouraging China to participate in the Global Peace Summit.

On June 10, the Swiss government announced that 90 states and organizations had registered for the Global Peace Summit, which will take place from June 15 to 16.

The press secretary of the President of Ukraine, Serhiy Nikiforov, said that China is still unlikely to participate in the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland, which will take place on June 15-16.  

American pop singer Madonna expressed support for the Peace Summit to end the war in Ukraine and return Ukrainian children.  

On June 12, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed that he would represent his country at the Peace Summit on Ukraine in Switzerland on June 15-16.