10:06 AM
He president Gustavo Petro surprised this weekend by announcing that would not attend the Peace Conference on Ukraine in Zurich (Switzerland) and that, instead, would return “immediately” to Colombia. But what happened? At the time, the same head of state assured that, in his opinion, the peace conference is “aligned with the war.”
Now, the Colombian Foreign Ministry specified that the president’s last-minute decision not to attend the Ukraine peace summitheld this weekend in Switzerland, “came after the country learned the text of the proposed declaration and that a general consensus was not achieved on the final text, since a group of attending countries did not subscribe to it.”
President Gustavo Petro canceled its announced participation in said summit on Friday, and a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, arguing that “what we have found in relation to the peace conference, in quotes, in Switzerland, is that it is basically a allegiance to the side of war, and we do not agree with that.”
lRead here: “Russia and its leaders are not ready for a just peace”: Zelensky
The summit brought together countries that reiterated their support to the independence and territorial sovereignty of Ukraine.
Taking into account that at the meeting in Switzerland, which was attended by more than 90 countries, one of its protagonists in the conflict, Russia, did not attend The head of state had pointed out that “the dialogue between Russia and Ukraine is fundamental.”
On this point he agreed with his Chilean counterpart, President Gabriel Boric, who attended the summit to highlight the need for dialogue between kyiv and Moscow. “We hope that Russia and Ukraine will soon establish a dialogue, respecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Boric said.
The summit ended on Sunday with a joint declaration that was not signed by twelve of the attending countries.
“Despite this circumstance, the National Government reiterates its willingness to support the negotiated solution that allows lasting peace to be achieved as soon as possible and offers its experience in the humanitarian affairs attention to the victims of this armed conflict”said the statement from the Foreign Ministry.
He added that “it is urgent to stop the wars that currently affect the world, stop the murder of thousands of people and concentrate action on the urgent problems facing humanity such as the climate crisis, the loss of biodiversity, poverty and inequality, among others. Colombia will continue to raise its voice in the appropriate international forums where solutions to these challenges are addressed.”
The president had criticized the meeting, considering that it should be “debating the ways to shorten the war and not to extend it.”
Petro also proposed “el establishment of a nuclear-free security zone that physically separates NATO from Russia, which allows the permanent security of the former Soviet and Eastern European nations, absolute respect for the Russian and Ukrainian peoples within Ukraine and Russia. “The prudence of the European Union in its expansion so as not to unleash war.”
Finally, the summit closed with a statement supported by nearly 80 of the 92 participating countries, reaffirming “the principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all States, including Ukraine.” Likewise, it urged “involvement and dialogue between all parties” involved in the war, in addition to the release “through exchange” of prisoners of war.
With information from Colprensa*
