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Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Eighty countries, including Ukraine, and four European institutions signed the final joint communique of the Switzerland peace summit on June 16, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter on the ground.
The countries notably absent from the list of signatories include India, Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Indonesia, Bahrain, Colombia, South Africa, Thailand, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.
Representatives of around 100 countries and organizations gathered at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland on June 15-16 to discuss a possible way toward peace and other key concerns related to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Russia was not invited to attend.
Brazil, present as an observer in the list of 92 confirmed participant countries shared by the Swiss Foreign Ministry on June 14, has also not signed the communique.
The organizations that signed the document are Council of Europe, European Commission, European Parliament and European Council.
The communique called to return the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant under full control of Ukraine, ensure uninterrupted manufacturing and supply of food products in Ukraine, secure full access to sea ports in the Black and Azov Seas, release all prisoners of war and return all deported Ukrainian children, among other things.
The document also declared any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine inadmissible and attacks on ships and civilian ports unacceptable.
Explainer: What is the global peace summit in Switzerland, and what does Ukraine hope to achieve?
Well into the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine is looking to strengthen international support for its peace plan at the upcoming global peace summit on June 15-16. While Russia has not been invited to the summit and has dismissed Ukraine’s plan outright, so far 107 countries
“We believe that reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties. We, therefore, decided to undertake concrete steps in the future in the above-mentioned areas with further engagement of the representatives of all parties,” adds the text.
“The United Nations Charter, including the principles of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states, can and will serve as a basis in achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Countries that have not attended the summit will be able to sign the communique later, Ukraine’s Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak said on national television on June 15.
In a final statement following the summit, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the signatories would work in groups on the issues mentioned in the communique as the next step. He added that when an action plan is ready to implement each point declared in the document, the second peace summit could take place.
“We don’t have time for long-term work. Moving toward peace means moving quickly. Preparation will take months, not years.”
Yermak previously said on the sidelines of the summit that Kyiv hoped to formulate a new joint peace plan based on Zelensky’s 10-point peace formula but was open to all opinions from other countries.
This plan could then be presented to Russia during a second summit, Yermak added.
The peace formula includes Russia’s full withdrawal from Ukraine and prosecution of war crimes, among other steps.
Source link : https://kyivindependent.com/80-countries-4-european-institutions-sign-peace-summits-joint-communique/
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Publish date : 2024-06-16 15:56:15
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