Volodymyr Zelensky’s Swiss-hosted "peace conference" on Ukraine was bound to be pointless without Russia’s participation, Steffen Kotre, Bundestag MP for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told Russian media.
As a result, it was reduced to nothing more than a venue for political posturing and wishful thinking, he said.
“It was to be expected that the conference would not bring any results, since Russia did not take part in it. The United States and its allies once again offered Ukraine pledges of support, and promised to supply it with weapons. Therefore, Zelensky spouted assurances that Russia can be defeated. This is nothing but wishful thinking, and is far from reality. In three weeks, everyone will have forgotten about this conference,” Kotre said.
According to the German politician, there can only be one first step on the path to peace – an "unconditional ceasefire." He added that the "rights of [Russian speaking] minorities must be respected,” and underscored that “Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO if Russia’s security interests are to be taken into account.”
“Territorial issues must be resolved jointly by the conflicting parties,” Kotre emphasized.
US Vice President Kamala Harris arrived at the conference in place of Joe Biden, who opted to attend a California fundraiser instead. China urged for a real peace conference to be held that would be recognized by both Russia and Ukraine. Colombian President Gustavo Petro pulled out at the last minute, as the summit was not a "free forum" for peace between Moscow and Kiev.
The process of achieving peace in Ukraine requires Russia's participation, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said. "Any credible peace process in Ukraine requires Russia's participation," he underscored during his speech at the conference in Switzerland.
BRICS countries, as well as several other states that attended the Swiss-hosted summit on Ukraine, did not sign a joint declaration on the results of the talks on Sunday, the signatory list displayed by the organizers on the screens of the press center revealed.
The document 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 dismissed the conference, to which it was not invited, as “meaningless.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the summit was not result-oriented, as it was impossible to hold peace talks on Ukraine without Russia's participation.
The goal of the conference is to deliver an ultimatum to Russia in the form of Zelensky's "peace plan," Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told Sputnik.