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Switzerland has announced it will host a two-day high-level international conference in June to pave the way for peace in Ukraine after more than two years of conflict. Swiss President Viola Amherd will preside over the peace talks.
A press statement from the country’s foreign ministry on Wednesday stated, “The aim of that heads of state and government meeting is to develop a common understanding of a path towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
The international conference is scheduled for June 15-16 at the luxurious Bürgenstock Resort, situated above Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland. A total of around 120 countries will be invited to participate, with their heads of state in attendance.
After several months of exploratory phase with various states, the Swiss government said in a statement that “conditions are now in place for the conference to be able to initiate a peace process.” Regarding the countries taking part, the statement mentioned that during the early discussions, Switzerland spoke with “G7 countries, the EU, and representatives from countries in the Global South like China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia.”
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis had visited the Asia-Pacific region, including trips to India and China, in February of this year. According to an official release, “Peace in Ukraine” was also on the agenda during these visits.
Ukraine Wants India On-Board
Ukraine has repeatedly expressed its interest in India’s participation in the upcoming peace talks. During a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked India for supporting his country’s sovereignty and emphasised the importance of New Delhi’s attendance at the summit in Switzerland.
Following this, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited New Delhi in March, marking the first visit by a top Ukrainian diplomat to India in seven years.
During a discussion organised by the Council for Strategic and Defence Research (CSDR), a Delhi-based think tank, Kuleba stressed on the significance of India’s confirmation of participation in the peace conference, stating that it would influence other countries worldwide.
“Having India on board [at the Swiss summit] would add legitimacy to the effort,” Kuleba said, as reported by The Hindu. Expressing eagerness for India to utilise its influence with Russia, Kuleba said that he had no doubt that “at some point” talks with Russia would begin. He added, “India can play a role in engaging with Russians about the peace process.”
In March, India responded to the Swiss Peace conference by affirming its commitment to encouraging a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. “We continue to encourage peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. And we remain open to engaging all ways and means that could help achieve this objective,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated.
Meanwhile last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, after an embassy round table in Moscow called the “peace formula” an “ultimatum” for Russia. He criticised the Peace Conference’s coercive tactics, emphasising the absence of genuine dialogue or consensus-building. Lavrov, based on the information that he has received, said, “The EU guidelines for its Ukrainian subordinates says that everything else does not matter as long as you have a photo with 140 people in it.”
China’s Prospect
China has been carefully balancing its ties with Russia and any peace initiatives to end the over two-year Russia-Ukraine war. On Tuesday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said that Beijing hopes to see an early ceasefire in Ukraine. Calling for the recognition of the conference by both Russia and Ukraine, the spokesperson said, “China supports the holding in due course of an international peace conference that is recognised by both Russia and Ukraine and ensures the equal participation of all parties and fair discussions on all peace plans.”
However, the Chinese spokesperson declined to comment on the prospect of Beijing’s participation in the peace conference, saying, “I have nothing to share.”
The idea for such a conference was discussed in January 2024 during Zelenskyy’s visit to Bern and talks with President Viola Amherd. The Swiss President assured her Ukrainian counterpart of support in organising a high-level peace conference in Switzerland. Since then, Switzerland has been in direct contact with numerous states to explore options for initiating a peace process.
This is the third major peace talk that the Swiss government is aiming for since the war between Russia and Ukraine began. Switzerland, along with Ukraine, hosted the international Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in July 2022 in Lugano, and the National Security Advisors Meeting took place in Davos at the beginning of the year.
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