On 15-16 June 2024, the Swiss Government under the leadership of the Federal President Viola Amherd and the Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis organized a High-level Summit for Peace in Ukraine in the plush hotel complex of the Burgenstock in the mountains above Lake Lucerne. The Summit was attended by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukranian President Voladymyr Zalensky. However, there was no representative of the Russian Federation and no delegation which could officially set out the Russian position.
Ar the end of the Summit there was a joint statement which stated that "The ongoing war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine continues to cause large-scale human suffering and destruction, and to create risks and crises with global repercussions for the world. We had a fruitful, comprehensive, and constructive exchange of various views on pathways toward a framework for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace, based on international law, including the United Nations Charter....
"We believe that reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties."
As with all such meetings, one does not know what is said in private and what next steps may be suggested. The meeting is a sign that there is a military stalemate but continued loss of life. Thus, there is a need for negotiations in good faith. The positions of the Ukraine and Russian governments are still far apart.
The one practical proposal agreed upon in the joint declaration is that "All prisoners of war must be released by complete exchange. All deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children, and all other Ukrainian civilians who were unlawfully detained, must be returned to Ukraine."
Building upon this expression of concern by governments, we now must see in what ways nongovernmental organizations may move things in a positive direction.
René Wadlow, Association of World Citizens
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