China’s absence from the summit raises questions about the event, which Russia considered “futile”.
World leaders are gathering in Switzerland for a summit aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine, but the absence of Moscow’s powerful allies such as China is expected to blunt its potential impact.
US Vice President Kamala Harris and the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are among those expected to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the summit that begins on Saturday.
India, Turkey and Hungary, which have friendlier relations with Russia, are also expected to join.
But China remains aloof after Russia was excluded from the process, claiming that it considered the event “futile” and expressed no interest in participating.
Without China, Western hopes of isolating Russia have faded, while recent military setbacks on the battlefield have put Ukrainian forces at a disadvantage.
“The summit risks showing the limits of Ukrainian diplomacy,” said Richard Gowan, director of the United Nations International Crisis Group.
“However, it is also an opportunity for Ukraine to remind the world that it is upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter.”
Moscow’s demands
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia would end the war if Ukraine agreed to abandon its NATO ambitions and hand over all four provinces claimed by Moscow – demands that Kiev quickly rejected as tantamount to surrender. .
Ukraine and the US quickly rejected Putin’s demands, but his statement apparently reflected growing confidence that Russian forces have the upper hand in the war.
Speaking from Italy shortly before leaving for Switzerland, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with ZDF television: “Everyone knows that this proposal was not taken seriously, but it had something to do with the peace conference in Switzerland.”
Russia views what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine as part of a broader struggle with the West, which it says wants to bring Russia to its knees.
Ukraine and the West reject this and accuse Russia of waging a war of illegal conquest.
Switzerland, which participated in the summit at Zelenskyy’s request, wants to pave the way for a future peace process that includes Russia.
Around 90 countries and organizations have committed to the two-day meeting which will take place in Buergenstock, a mountaintop resort in central Switzerland.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
