Nearly 80 countries at Swiss conference agree Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be basis of peace deal
- 17 June, 07:22
Seventy-eight countries at the Swiss conference on Saturday agreed that Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be the basis for a peace deal to end the war with Russia. The final document during the two-day conference, agreed that the United Charter and “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty … can and will serve as a basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Swiss president Viola Amherd said the fact that the “great majority” of participants agreed to the final document, “shows what diplomacy can achieve.
Before the start of the conference Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said history would be made in the conference. "I believe that we will witness history being made here at the summit. May peace be established as soon as possible," the Ukrainian leader said in a statement at the beginning of the Peace summit.
During the summit, Zelenskiy had a meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris who announced $1.5bn in aid for Ukraine’s energy sector and its humanitarian situation amid its ongoing war with Russia. “This is not charity on our part. The people of Ukraine and their future are our strategic interest... to ensure that international norms such as territorial integrity and independence are respected,” Kamala Harris said. Apart from Harris, Zelenskiy also
held talks with the heads of Switzerland, Georgia, Chile and Patriarch Bartholomew.
The conference that was marked by Russia’s absence, was attended by up to 100 delegations, mostly Western countries, including presidents and prime ministers from France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Poland, Argentina, Ecuador, Kenya and Somalia.
