Although Russia and China will not be participating, the event will see the involvement of numerous countries from around the world.
More than 100 global leaders, including US Vice President Kamala Harris and the presidents or heads of the EU, South American, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries, will gather at the luxury Bürgenstock resort outside Lucerne, Switzerland, on Saturday.
Poland will be represented by President Andrzej Duda.
Before departing for Switzerland, Duda stated that Poland is a partner with Kyiv in building a peace framework.
He also emphasized the importance of making countries distant from Ukraine aware that Russian aggression poses a threat not only to Europe but to the entire world.
President Andrzej Duda will participate in the afternoon opening session of the conference, where he will address issues of international law compliance and the integrity of Ukraine's borders.
On the second day of the summit, Duda will also speak in a panel dedicated to nuclear policy.
Despite the likelihood that the summit will not result in a breakthrough, Ukrainian media and experts are hopeful that it may serve as the initial step in the peace process.
The conference will discuss Kyiv’s proposed 10-point plan to end the war, along with three other key themes: food security, nuclear security, and humanitarian issues.
According to Sviatoslav Khomenko, a journalist from BBC News Ukraine, unofficial mechanisms for involving Russia in the talks might be developed during the summit.
Kyiv, although not openly discussed, expects the establishment of frameworks for negotiations with Russia, including the appointment of mediators, to advance the peace process, Khomenko said.
On Friday, Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russia would end the war only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow.
These demands were swiftly rejected by Ukraine as tantamount to surrender.
Putin emphasized the full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, which Russia claimed as its territory in 2022, a move deemed illegal by most UN countries.
Ukraine has labeled these conditions as absurd. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that Putin's demands equate to asking Ukraine to surrender, cede its territories, and abandon its geopolitical sovereignty.
President Volodymyr Zelensky told Italy's SkyTG24 that Putin's comments were an ultimatum, strategically timed before the Swiss summit to assert pressure, amidst ongoing violence and missile attacks.
The summit also coincides with G7 leaders gathering in Italy, who have secured a new deal for a €50 billion loan for Ukraine, funded through the windfall profits from interest on Russian central bank assets frozen by the EU and other Western nations after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
(ał)
Source: Reuters, IAR