The draft final statement of a summit on Ukraine demands respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine

World leaders gathered in a Swiss Alpine resort on Saturday to seek a broader consensus on peace proposals for Ukraine at a summit that China ignored and described as a waste of time.

More than 90 countries are taking part in the summit, but China’s absence in particular dashed hopes that the summit would show Russia as globally isolated, and recent military defeats in Kiev put Ukraine on the defensive.

The war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has also diverted attention away from Ukraine.

The talks focused on broader concerns raised by the war, such as food and nuclear security, however, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, two candidates to host another summit-style event, said Russia’s participation was necessary to make any tangible progress.

A draft statement by a summit of world leaders in Switzerland to pursue the peace process in Ukraine said Russia’s “war” against Ukraine had caused “widespread human suffering and destruction” and urged respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

The final statement is due to be issued on Sunday at the end of the summit, which began on Saturday in the central Swiss resort of Bürgenstock.

The Swiss government said it hoped the summit’s final communiqué would have the support of all participants.

Some changes had been made to the draft where a previous reference to Russian “aggression” was deleted and replaced by the word “war”.

The document also calls for the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to be returned to Ukrainian control and for Kiev to be used for its ports on the Sea of Azov.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Saturday that he would submit peace proposals to Russia once they were approved by the international community.

Zelensky said at the opening of the first peace summit in Ukraine hosted by Switzerland, “When the action plan is on the table, is transparent to the people and approved by all, it will be communicated to representatives of Russia so that we can really put an end to the war”.

US Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated the United States’ firm stand by Ukraine.

“If the world doesn’t react when an aggressor invades its neighbor, other aggressors will undoubtedly become emboldened,” she told representatives of a hundred countries and organizations who were in Switzerland until Sunday to draw up a first draft of a peace plan.

She added that Russian President Vladimir Putin “made a proposal, but the truth should be told, he isn’t calling for negotiations, he is calling for the surrender of Ukraine”.

The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz argued that peace doesn’t just mean not fighting war,” rejecting the concept of new truth promoted by the Kremlin, which means acknowledging Moscow’s control over twenty percent of Ukrainian territory.

He stressed that an immediate ceasefire without serious negotiations would only lead to another frozen conflict.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that “freezing the conflict isn’t a solution, but rather a recipe for future wars of aggression”.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for defining the principles of a just and lasting peace based on international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

“It is the path to be taken to reach a permanent cessation of hostilities,” he said.

Zelensky expressed hope at the summit opening that a just peace will be reached as soon as possible, stressing that “everything that will be agreed upon will be part of the process of restoring the peace that we all need”.

“We’ll see history come true during this summit,” he said, adding, “Everything that will be agreed at the summit today will be part of the peacemaking process”.

“We’ve succeeded in reviving to the world that joint efforts can stop war and establish a just peace”.

The summit aims to try to agree on a key international platform for final peace talks between Kiev and Moscow.

Zelensky said on Saturday that the only person who wants war is Putin, but in any case, the world is stronger.

The summit brings together a hundred countries and international bodies and takes place at a critical juncture for exhausted Ukraine more than two years after the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

The conference will be attended by the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as the leaders of the European Union and the leaders of Colombia, Chile, Finland, Ghana, Kenya and Poland.

US President Joe Biden has sent Vice President Kamala Harris to represent him, and she has announced more than $1.5 billion in aid to Kiev, mostly for Ukraine’s energy sector.

Argentine President Javier Milei and the presidents of Fiji and Ecuador were among the first arrivals.

Russia’s BRICS allies, Brazil and South Africa, sent only envoys.

India was also represented at the ministerial level, while China didn’t participate on the condition that Russia attend.