83 countries hold Ukraine peace talks

AFP | Davos                                                       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

More than 80 countries were holding talks yesterday seeking common ground on Ukraine’s peace formula, as the Swiss co-hosts admitted that being ready to include Russia remains some way off.

National security advisors from 83 countries held a fourth round of discussions based on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s 10-point proposals for a lasting and just peace in Ukraine, nearly two years on from Russia’s fullscale invasion.

The talks were co-chaired by Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, who heads Zelensky’s office, and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

“The purpose is to prepare so that we are ready and ripe to launch a process with Russia -- when the time comes,” Cassis told a press conference. He said the talks had to find a way to include Russia at some point, but thus far, neither Kyiv nor Moscow was ready to take such a step.

The meeting was being held in the luxury ski resort of Davos in eastern Switzerland, on the eve of the five-day World Economic Forum summit of the globe’s business and political elite. Cassis said that rather than groups such as the G7, the G20 or the European Union coming up with their own positions, or working through the “too polarised” UN Security Council, “here we try to speak together” and find common language.

Brazil, India and South Africa participated in the talks -- countries that sit alongside Russia in the BRICS group. Cassis said their involvement was highly important as they were still in dialogue with Moscow and therefore retained a certain degree of trust. He said that getting collective momentum across a wide range of countries beyond simply those in the West made it more likely that a conflict exit route could be found.