What happened
A two-day peace summit in Switzerland ended Sunday with 78 countries signing a communiqué backing Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” as the basis of any deal to end the war in Russia. Russia was not invited to the peace talks and China, Moscow’s most important ally, did not attend. Several major countries, including India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia, attended but did not sign the final document.
Who said what
The joint communiqué states that “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty” should “serve as a basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he would agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine ceded four regions that Russia partially occupies and claims to have annexed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the conference showed that “international support for Ukraine is not weakening.”
What now?
Zelenskyy called the summit “first steps towards peace” and said that at a “second peace summit we can achieve the real end to this war.” He added that “Russia can start negotiations tomorrow if it withdraws from our territories.”
