Ukraine and Switzerland on Sunday (14 January) are expected to host around 120 national security advisors in the Swiss resort town of Davos, the latest push to rally support for Kyiv’s peace plan.
The closed-door meeting, taking place in the run-up to the World Economic Forum next week, is the fourth official such gathering of its kind and the biggest to date, following previous gatherings in Copenhagen, Jeddah and most recently in Malta in October.
Officials involved in the talks had hoped the meeting in Malta last year would lead to the setting of a date for a global ‘Peace Formula’ summit to build a coalition of support for Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan, drafted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in December 2022.
Kyiv sees the series of meetings as critical for building international support and putting pressure on the Kremlin to stop its aggression against the country.
Zelenskyy’s plan includes calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, protection of food and energy supplies, nuclear safety and the release of all prisoners.
But so far, the previous meetings have ended without a final declaration or a set summit date. Co-chairs in the previous meeting produced a joint statement referring to the participants’ commitment to just and lasting peace.
There are considerations to organise a summit to begin implementing the plan that might take place in February 2024, people familiar with the discussions said, especially as Ukraine fears Western attention is split over the situation in the Middle East and domestic election cycles.
European officials over the past few days have been less optimistic that such a meeting can happen soon, especially as the war in Gaza is making it harder to win over diplomatic support for Ukraine’s peace plan blueprint.
Euractiv understands that Sunday’s discussions are also unlikely to shift the position of neutral countries such as India, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
The same applies to more outspoken countries like South Africa and Brazil, which continue to pursue close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia.
Before the Davos meeting, it remained unclear whether China – which for the first and so far only first time attended such a meeting in Jeddah last year – would participate with a representative.
No negotiations
The peace formula talks do not involve Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has occupied nearly a fifth of the country.
Moscow to date has rejected the initiative, saying it would be impossible to implement.
Ukrainian officials are also not interested in negotiations that could force them to cede territory to Russia, even as Western financial and military aid to Ukraine faces growing obstacles.
But neither Ukraine nor most Western officials believe the Kremlin has shown serious interest in a diplomatic outcome, with the latter insisting they won’t pressure Kyiv into ceasefire talks.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week warned a ceasefire would serve Russia’s interests of rebuilding its forces, while Western aid only slowly finds its way to the front.
In recent months, Europe and the US have been increasingly worried that Kyiv’s growing shortage of financial means and ammunition could offer Russia an opportunity to push ahead.
Over the months leading up to winter, Russia had steadily built up a firepower advantage over Ukraine by expanding military production and striking weapons-supply deals to acquire significant amounts of North Korean shells and Iranian drones.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
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