Eighty countries jointly called on Sunday, in the joint communique of the Ukraine Peace Conference being held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” to be the basis of any peace deal to end Ukraine’s war.

“The Russian Federation’s ongoing war against Ukraine continues to cause large-scale human suffering and destruction, and to cause risks and crises with global implications,” the final declaration said.

The joint communique also recognizes that Russia must join the discussions in order to achieve a “sustainable and just peace”.

But the question of “how and when Russia will get involved” remains open, Swiss Confederation president and summit host Viola Amherd admitted.

The text reaffirms “the principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine.” He denounces the “militarization of food security” and calls for the return of children from Ukraine forcibly taken to Russia.

It also calls for “engagement on all sides” of the conflict to end hostilities, as Russia and China snubbed the summit.

However, it is noted that some important developing nations did not sign the communiqué. These are states in which Russia exerts strong influence through bilateral relations or through its presence in organizations such as BRICS.

The support of Western and other leaders at the summit in Switzerland for peace in Ukraine shows that international law can be restored, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the two-day summit.

The background

Western powers and other countries on Sunday pressed for a consensus on how to end the war in Ukraine during the summit, but some countries may not agree to support the final conclusions, while it is not known whether the talks in future will include Russia.

More than 90 countries took part in the two-day talks in the Alpine resort of Burgenstock organized at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But Moscow, which was not invited and made it clear it did not want to participate, called the summit a waste of time and formulated peace proposals that leave no room for compromise in Kiev. China is another notable absence.

The conference, however, underlined the broad support Ukraine still enjoys from its allies, but also the challenges facing any lasting ceasefire, with Ukrainian forces on the defensive following recent military defeats and delayed Western help. Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine.

A draft of the final declaration seen by Reuters refers to the Russian invasion as “war” – a characterization Moscow rejects – and calls for restoring Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea.

The draft, dated June 13, calls for respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

But in keeping with the conference’s more measured stated aims, it omits tougher issues of what a post-war settlement for Ukraine would look like, whether Ukraine could join NATO or how a troop withdrawal might work, and from both sides.

There may not be unanimous support for the wording of the declaration, Austrian Chancellor Karl Neuhammer had made clear.

The summit also aspired to name the host of another such meeting – possibly Saudi Arabia – but Nehammer said it was too early to say what form such a summit might take and whether Russia would be there. Another interim conference without Moscow’s participation may be needed, he said.

“In my opinion, the communiqué will not be signed by all, because again it is a matter of special choice of words, but even those who will not sign it have all made it clear that their position is the same, that the war must to finish,” he said.

“The more allies can be found who say ‘Things can’t go on like this’, ‘This is going too far’, ‘That’s going too far’, the moral pressure on the Russian Federation also increases,” he added.

The Kremlin did not rule out future talks with Kiev but said guarantees would be needed to ensure the credibility of any negotiations.

One source said it was unclear whether Saudi Arabia would be announced at today’s summit as the next host of the talks.

Leaders including US Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Burgenstock in a bid to drum up international support to end the war.

Many Western leaders condemned the invasion and rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims to parts of Ukraine as a condition for peace.

“The text is balanced, all principled positions that Ukraine insisted on have been taken into account,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters about the final announcement to be issued later.

“Of course… we understand very well that there will come a time when it will be necessary to talk to Russia,” he said. “But our position is very clear: We will not allow Russia to speak the language of ultimatums as it does now.”

Some leaders have left, and today’s talks are turning to pursuing a common position on nuclear and food security, as well as the return of prisoners of war and children forcibly removed from Ukraine during the conflict.

They didn’t sign

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates were among the countries participating in the Ukraine peace summit that did not sign the final communique, he said today the Swiss government. In many of these countries, Moscow also exerts strong influence through organizations such as BRICS.

Switzerland, which hosted the summit, said a vast majority had signed the communique, according to a list Swiss organizers posted at the close of business.

Brazil, listed in the list of participants as an “observer”, is also not among the countries that signed the final communique.

“We will help with all our powers for a lasting and just peace”

At the plenary session of the International Conference on Ukraine, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was seated today in front of the world leaders and officials taking part.

“We are all here to demonstrate our commitment to international law and to emphasize the importance of the United Nations Charter. To remind everyone that international law must be respected, that countries and peoples have the right to choose their governments and determine their future.

And of course, nuclear safety cannot be jeopardized, nor can food safety. We all agree that this peace cannot be the result of a capitulation and that is why we will help Ukraine with all our forces to reach a lasting and just peace through proper negotiations” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Later, the Greek prime minister will also intervene in the working group on the topic of food security.