As the two-day Swiss-hosted summit on Ukraine wrapped up on Sunday, Western media outlets could not help admitting that the gathering had “hit a wall.”
The summit was a “struggle” and failed to win over support from the Global South, they conceded.
Britain’s The Telegraph acknowledged the “disappointing end” to the Ukraine summit in its headline story. It went on to dub the peace declaration “watered-down.” It also noted that the final document was not supported by all the delegations, and that the process was a “fraught” one.
Sreenshot of story published by The Telegraph on Zelensky's 'peace conference' on Ukraine held in Switzerland on June 15-16, 2024.
© Photo : The Telegraph
The Guardian similarly highlighted that key global powers like Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates failed to sign up to the summit’s communique, and that China snubbed the event.
Sreenshot of story published by The Guardian on Zelensky's 'peace conference' on Ukraine held in Switzerland on June 15-16, 2024.
© Photo : The Guardian
The fact that the final document of Zelensky’s summit came up against key refusals reflected “Russia’s continuing international economic power and influence,” the Financial Times begrudgingly admitted.
Sreenshot of story published by the Financial Times on Zelensky's 'peace conference' on Ukraine held in Switzerland on June 15-16, 2024.
© Photo : Financial Times
Bern-based Swissinfo of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation referred to the summit as having been a “struggle,” and noted that it ended with an “unresolved declaration.”
Sreenshot of story published by Swissinfo on Zelensky's 'peace conference' on Ukraine held in Switzerland on June 15-16, 2024.
© Photo : Swissinfo.ch
Politico suggested that the peace summit on Ukraine “looked more like another UN General Assembly.” It whimsically remarked that “Russia’s ghost loomed over the summit,” after Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out conditions for an end to the Ukraine conflict the day before the summit started.
It “reinforced the reality that the Kremlin eventually will have to be dealt with,” Politico summed up.
Sreenshot of story published by Politico on Zelensky's 'peace conference' on Ukraine held in Switzerland on June 15-16, 2024.
© Photo : Politico
Volodymyr Zelensky’s summit on Ukraine held in Switzerland fell short of its goals, with major powers and high-level representatives largely absent, including US President Joe Biden, China’s President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The joint declaration on the results of the talks on Sunday was signed by 79 countries out of 91 present, but Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, the Holy See, India, Indonesia, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates did not sign it.
Russia, which was not invited to the gathering, dismissed it as “meaningless.” Its goal was to deliver an ultimatum to Russia in the form of Zelensky's "peace plan," Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told Sputnik.