The two-day peace summit in Switzerland should be quickly followed by a second meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday towards the end of proceedings.
Preparations would take only months, not years, Zelensky said after representatives of about a hundred countries and organizations gathered at the Bürgenstock mountain hotel resort near Lucerne.
According to Zelensky, some countries had already indicated that they were prepared to organize such a summit.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a condition for Russia’s participation would be Moscow’s commitment to the UN Charter.
The summit’s final declaration, which was signed by 80 of the countries present, makes no mention of a follow-up conference.
Swiss President Viola Amherd acknowledged different perspectives at the conference, but emphasized that this marked the first high-level discussion on a peace process. Some substantive conditions had been created for a path to an end to the war in Ukraine, she said.
The fact that the vast majority of states present agreed on the Bürgenstock Communiqué shows what diplomacy can achieve through patient work, Amherd added.
Russia was not invited to the event and showed no interest in participating. The summit was also an attempt by the West to involve other countries in South America, Asia and Africa in peace efforts based on international law. Ukraine calls for a “just and lasting” peace.
