The Ukraine Peace Summit Ends With Agreement on What a Final Peace Will Look Like

Representatives of 101 nations gathered in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday for a Peace Summit leading to an eventual peace settlement. Though the meeting did not include any indicted Russian diplomats, the summit sent a strong message to Russia about what any peace agreement will look like if it doesn’t win a total victory on the battlefield, 

Although the peace summit on Ukraine looked more like another U.N. General Assembly, where different countries talked about the U.N. Charter and respect for international law, the participants reached a consensus that war in Ukraine must end with a “just and lasting peace,” not peace at any cost.

That conference produced a set of principles that will guide any peace settlement and lay the ground for another summit. 

The conference produced a joint communique signed by 78 nations, which said any peace agreement must honor Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

…In particular, we reaffirm our commitment to refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, the principles of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine, within their internationally recognized borders, including territorial waters, and the resolution of disputes through peaceful means as principles of international law.

In addition, there were three operating principles.

1. Firstly, any use of nuclear energy and nuclear installations must be safe, secured, safe-guarded and environmentally sound. Ukrainian nuclear power plants and installations, including Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, must operate safely and securely under full sovereign control of Ukraine and in line with IAEA principles and under its supervision.

Any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the context of the ongoing war against Ukraine is inadmissible.

2. Secondly, global food security depends on uninterrupted manufacturing and supply of food products. In this regard, free, full and safe commercial navigation, as well as access to sea ports in the Black and Azov Seas, are critical. Attacks on merchant ships in ports and along the entire route, as well as against civilian ports and civilian port infrastructure, are unacceptable. 

Food security must not be weaponized in any way. Ukrainian agricultural products should be securely and freely provided to interested third countries.

3. Thirdly, all prisoners of war must be released by complete exchange. All deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children, and all other Ukrainian civilians who were unlawfully detained, must be returned to Ukraine.

Russia did not attend, but neither was it invited.

The conference came a day after a bizarre offer by Putin to begin negotiations with Ukraine if Ukraine surrendered first.

BACKGROUND: Putin Delivers Ultimatum to Ukraine and the West

That offer drew the scorn and derision it so richly deserved.

A handful of countries — India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates — did not sign onto the communique. India and Saudi Arabia did so because they believed Russia should have been present. South Africa refused because — I swear I am not making this up — “it was surprising that at this conference, Israel is present and participating.” That said, Ukraine had overwhelming support from the so-called “Global South.”

Much of the Global South, Latin America and Africa supported the final communique and agreed to help Ukraine during the series of meetings on bilateral level that are planned ahead of the next summit, the date of which is not yet settled.

The group agreed to meet at a later, undetermined date for more discussions.

What did this accomplish? A hundred nations got together despite diplomatic pressure from China and Russia to discuss what a Ukraine peace agreement looks like. Eighty-two countries finally signed the communique. The representatives include all those of the G7. At least 16 of those countries have long-term mutual security agreements with Ukraine, and 15 more are negotiating such agreements. It firmly says that the West will not bully Ukraine into surrender. If it wishes to take that route, it can, but it will not be forced to kowtow to the Kremlin.

BACKGROUND: US Signs 10-Year Security Agreement With Ukraine at G7 Summit

The three points in the communique were taken from Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan. 

BACKGROUND: Ukraine Peace Talks Move Forward With China Present and Russia Excluded – RedState

Putin may have overplayed what looks like a very weak hand in his demand for Ukraine’s capitulation.

Zelenskyy said Putin’s ultimatum the day before the summit started actually played in Kyiv’s favor. “Some of the [countries] changed their mind after his ultimatum. The enemy’s mistakes are also a success for us,” Zelenskyy said.

What happens next is a series of bilateral meetings before the group reconvenes.

While I’m sure there are a lot of Putinistas laughing, Putin’s desperation-tinged demand for Ukraine’s surrender has probably succeeded in unifying support for Ukraine in a way few other things. I think we need to view this document as being in the same category as the Roosevelt-Churchill Atlantic Charter. That document signed aboard the HMS Prince of Wales, promised a postwar world where there would be no wars for territorial conquest and no boundaries would be changed without the people’s consent. It promised the restoration of self-government, the reduction of trade restrictions, and better economic conditions for all. 

YES, THERE IS A CONNECTION: Memorial Day Weekend: Grave Robbers Are Desecrating WWII Shipwrecks to Loot ‘Pre-War’ Steel – RedState

It largely delivered on that vision. I think this document will guide Europe and maybe other nations toward a place where bullies are afraid to act out because they don’t like the consequences.