National security advisers from 83 countries gathered in the Swiss town of Davos Sunday, on the eve of the World Economic Forum, to discuss Ukraine's 10-point peace plan that outlines Kyiv’s terms for ending the war with Russia.
This is the fourth such gathering organized by Ukraine around President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plan, which calls for Russia’s complete withdrawal from all Ukrainian territories.
The 83 delegations, including 18 from Asia and 12 from Africa, participated at the meeting, a significantly larger number than the 65 that attended the last round of talks in Malta last October. Two previous meetings were held, one in Copenhagen and another one in Jeddah.
National security representatives from emerging economies such as Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa took part in the talks. These countries, along with China and Russia, are part of the BRICS alliance.
Swiss Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis, who is co-hosting the talks at Davos, hailed the participants, adding they could play an important role in the talks.
"The participation of the BRICS alliance is very important because these countries have a relationship to Russia. ... All this can create this collective movement to bring in countries that are far from the conflict but can play a role in influencing China and Russia," Cassis said.
Cassis, however, noted China’s absence from the talks.
“China plays a significant role. We must find ways to work with China on this,” he added, in remarks to reporters partway through the talks.
Ukraine's presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, praised the increasing involvement of countries from the Global South in Ukraine’s peace efforts. He echoed Cassis’ comments Sunday that it was important that China be part of the discussions over the "peace formula" process.
It is not clear if the BRICS participants agree with Zelenskyy’s peace plan that calls for Russia’s complete withdrawal from Ukrainian territories, Russia’s accountability for war crimes and the return of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
Russia, which was not invited to the meeting, controls a little less than one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. It has dismissed Kyiv’s "peace formula" as absurd as Ukraine aims to find peace without Moscow's participation.
Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska said Sunday it is unlikely that peace will be achieved between Ukraine and Russia until at least May 2025.
"It is a pity that a constructive talk about the situation in Ukraine will not happen — there will be no Russian delegation," Deripaska said in a post on the Telegram app.
Yermak said at a press conference that nothing short of Russia’s complete withdrawal from all Ukrainian territories would be acceptable to Ukraine.
He said that no allies had ever asked Ukraine to make any compromise, “which they know is not acceptable for us,” and it would never accept a “frozen conflict.”
“For all Ukrainians, the most important (thing) is to win this war,” he said.
Earlier in a statement from the Ukrainian presidency, Yermak said a simple cease-fire wouldn't end Russia's "aggression” on Ukraine.
“It’s definitely not the path to peace. The Russians do not want peace. They want domination,” he said.
Asked if Zelenskyy, who was not present at the meeting in Davos on Sunday, would meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who will lead a delegation at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss town this week, Yermak said, "Let's see," adding he had not seen the Ukrainian president's final agenda.
Cassis said that Zelenskyy will address the World Economic Forum Tuesday in an effort to keep up international focus on Ukraine's defense amid eroding support for Kyiv in the West.
Zelenskyy will head to Bern, Switzerland, on Monday, where he will meet with the heads of both houses of parliament, party leaders and the Swiss president, the president’s office wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian president will also meet with JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon this week during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and key Middle East leaders are expected to put the end of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza at the top of their agendas during the forum starting Monday.
“The [Ukraine] war is far from over and peace is still nowhere in sight," the Swiss department of foreign affairs said in a statement previewing the meetings in Davos.
Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
