The Kremlin has criticized the international Ukraine peace summit which took place in Burgenstock, Switzerland over the weekend. Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova highlighted that the Alpine gathering resulted in no tangible outcomes. Although almost 100 countries were represented at the event, Zakharova stated that the attempt to involve as many nations of the Global South as possible had “failed. She further described that the effort to host a “universal event” while simultaneously discussing increased weapons deliveries to Kyiv behind closed doors was an attempt to “camouflage” the West’s continued aggressive intentions.
Zakharova criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace plan, arguing that its authors in the United States and on Bankovaya Street were attempting to portray it as the sole foundation for a peace settlement. Notably, countries such as Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, and the UAE did not sign the summit’s final communique. Brazil was present as an observer but also chose not to sign.
Zakharova accused Western leaders of having no genuine interest in peace in Ukraine, instead requiring further confrontation, escalation, and expanded hostilities to achieve their unrealistic goal of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia.
The day before the start of Saturday’s two-day Swiss summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined key conditions for a peaceful settlement focused on Ukrainian troops withdrawing from the four annexed eastern territories and Kiev abandoning all aspirations to join NATO. Leaders gathered in Switzerland rejected this proposal as mere “propaganda” and argued that accepting it would amount to Ukraine’s total capitulation.
The Kremlin now states that the next formal proposal on the horizon will be a document outlining the Ukrainian government’s surrender. This was stated by Russia’s chief delegate to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, during a Rossiya-24 television interview.
Gavrilov called Putin’s recent proposals “realistic” and said they could end the war if embraced. Putin had stated that Ukrainian troops must be completely withdrawn from the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Luhansk People’s Republic, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, and as soon as Kyiv agreed to do this and began withdrawing troops while officially renouncing plans to join NATO, Russia would immediately cease-fire and begin negotiations.
However, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Saturday echoed the consensus of leaders gathered with Zelensky in Burgenstock, stating that President Putin’s proposal “seems more like a propaganda move than a real one.” Meloni expressed doubt about the effectiveness of the proposal, suggesting that accepting it would require Ukraine to recognize its own invasion and cede occupied territories.
