Switzerland has changed its position on the initiative of China and Brazil to start peace talks in Ukraine. Kiev “does not understand the logic” of the Swiss and is disappointed because it condemns the Sino-Brazilian plan. The plan takes into account the fact that there is no condition in it for Russia to withdraw from the territory it occupies.
29.09.2024 07:00
Photo: SITA/AP, Efrem Lukatsky
A woman wearing a T-shirt with the image of the Ukrainian national emblem walks past national flags in memory of soldiers who died fighting Russian troops on Friday, September 27, 2024. Their names are on flags at a makeshift war memorial in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine.
7:00 On Saturday, the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke positively about the efforts of China and Brazil to promote their own plan regarding the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Reuters reported about it. According to a new statement, Switzerland’s position on the initiative, which Ukraine condemns, has changed significantly.
The statement came after Switzerland took part in multi-country talks led by representatives of China and Brazil on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly where the plan was discussed. The initiative announced in the spring envisages the resumption of direct talks between Kiev and Moscow without the condition that the Russians withdraw from their current positions in eastern Ukraine.
“We joined this negotiation as an observer and we support this dynamic,” Swiss diplomacy told Reuters. She explained the change in perspective on the Sino-Brazilian initiative by adding a mention of the UN Charter to the plan.
Switzerland hosted a peace summit in June, at which Ukraine presented to dozens of countries its idea of the way to end the war. Among other things, he insists on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied parts of the country. Ukrainian leaders describe their plan as the only path to a lasting and just peace and reject alternative procedures.
“We cannot understand the logic of such a decision,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded to Switzerland’s statement. It added that Ukraine and Switzerland are continuing to build support for a June summit communique that calls Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” the basis of any deal to end more than two-and-a-half years of Russian aggression.
The Politico portal reports that China tried to get the support of several countries for its plan at the UN General Assembly. Her proposal, consisting of six main points, calls for “non-expansion of the battlefield, non-escalation of fighting and non-provocation by any side”. Politico reminds that its implementation would allow Russia to continue occupying the occupied Ukrainian territories.
In response, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that it adheres to the principle of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” and that peace proposals must be based on the UN Charter and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders.
Kyiv called on Switzerland “and all countries that support international law and the UN Charter” not to participate in initiatives that “can only complicate the process of achieving a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace for Ukraine.”
Reuters reminds that Switzerland held a global peace summit in June. However, neither Russia nor China participated in it.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
