Moscow, June 17 (Sputnik).- The summit on Ukraine that took place this weekend in Switzerland ended without result, said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov.
“If we talk about the effectiveness of that meeting, it tends to zero,” Peskov told reporters.
Aside from objective or subjective evaluations, according to him, “it is difficult to talk about some results in this case.”
Asked about Russia’s possible participation in a second international summit on Ukraine, with no date yet, Peskov described the Kremlin’s position on the matter as “transparent” and “consequent.”
“It was formulated during the meeting that President (Vladímir) Putin held on Friday with senior officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry,” he said.
That peace initiative, he added, “remains on the agenda.”
«We will continue working with all countries willing to do so. “It is the position of our president, who remains open to dialogue, for serious, substantial and fruitful discussions,” he stated.
The Kremlin representative stated that “the general opinion”, and many delegations reiterated this in Switzerland, is that “there cannot be any serious, substantial discussion in the absence of Russia.”
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined a plan for an immediate ceasefire and the start of peace talks with Ukraine that consists of four essential conditions.
Thus, the Russian leader conditioned peace on the withdrawal of kyiv’s troops from the new territories of Russia – that is, the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and the provinces of Kherson and Zaporozhye (Zaporizhzhia) – as well as the rejection by Ukraine of the plans to integrate NATO.
Furthermore, Putin insisted on “a neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status of Ukraine” and the lifting of all Western sanctions against Russia.
The Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, for his part, rejected the proposal, calling it an ultimatum.
Switzerland held a conference on Ukraine on June 15 and 16 near the city of Lucerne, in the tourist complex of Burgenstock.
The final declaration of the summit consists of three paragraphs and calls for returning the Zaporozhye nuclear plant under Kiev control, ensuring free navigation in the Black and Azov seas and releasing all prisoners of war.
According to the organizers, of the 92 nations present, only 77 supported the final document, and Switzerland itself also joined them.
The countries that refused to sign the document were Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, India, Indonesia, Libya, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and the Vatican, as well as Iraq and Jordan, although these two nations They appeared on the initial list of signatories due to an error.
The presidents of the United States, China and Brazil did not attend this meeting. Russia was not invited to the event.
According to the Kremlin, it is absolutely illogical and useless to look for options to resolve the Ukrainian conflict without Russia’s participation. (Sputnik)
