More than 80 countries held talks on Sunday seeking agreement on Ukraine's peace formula, while Swiss co-hosts admitted that involving Russia in the negotiations is still a long way off.
National security advisers from 83 countries held a fourth round of talks based on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point proposals for a lasting and just peace in Ukraine, almost two years after Russia's large-scale invasion of the country.
The talks were co-chaired by Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, who heads Zelensky's office, and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
“The goal is to prepare so that we are ready and ripe to start a process with Russia – when the time comes,” Cassis told a news conference.
He said the talks should at some point find a way to include Russia, but so far neither Kiev nor Moscow were willing to take such a step.
The meeting took place in the luxury Davos ski resort in eastern Switzerland, on the eve of the five-day World Economic Forum.
Zelensky will travel to Switzerland on Monday to attend the annual summit of the world's business and political elite.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang will also visit Davos.
Look for common ground
Yermak said the talks were open, constructive and detailed on the key principles for achieving a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine.”
While there were disagreements on how to achieve peace, “we are very much in agreement on the most important principles: independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty and the norm of international law and the statutes of the United Nations,” he told a press conference.
Cassis said the involvement of Brazil, India and South Africa in the talks – countries that sit alongside Russia in the BRICS group – was very important because they were still in dialogue with Moscow.
Yermak said Ukraine is considering organizing summits with African countries and with South American countries to explain its position more broadly.
He added that he had not been pressured to offer Ukrainian territorial concessions, saying Ukraine was still fighting and “will clearly win this war.”
At an earlier press conference, Cassis noted: “We will have to find a way to involve Russia in the process. There will be no peace without Russia having its say.”
However, he added that “every minute we wait, dozens of civilians in Ukraine are killed or injured. We have no right to wait forever.”
Three previous National Security Advisor level meetings have been held: in Copenhagen in June 2023, Jeddah in August and Malta in October.
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