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Western powers and their allies condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at a summit in Switzerland on Sunday, but failed to persuade major non-aligned countries to join their final declaration, and no country agreed to host a follow-up declaration.

More than 90 countries took part in the two-day talks at a Swiss Alpine resort at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which were billed as a “peace summit” although Moscow was not invited.

Russia mocked the event from afar. China’s decision to stay away all but guaranteed that Ukraine’s summit goal of convincing the major countries of the “global south” to join in isolating Russia would not be achieved.

Brazil participated only as an “observer.” And India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa ultimately refused to sign the summit communiqué, although some controversial issues were omitted in the hope of gaining broader support.

Nevertheless, the conference gave Kyiv an opportunity to demonstrate the support of its Western allies, which it said it needed to continue the fight against a much larger enemy.

“We are responding to Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine not only with comprehensive protection of human life, but also with comprehensive diplomacy,” Zelensky said.

Heads of state and government such as US Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron met at the Bürgenstock mountain resort. US President Joe Biden, who was in Europe for other events last week, did not attend despite public invitations from Zelensky.

The front lines in Ukraine have barely shifted since the end of 2022, despite tens of thousands of deaths on both sides in the relentless trench warfare, the bloodiest fighting in Europe since World War II.

In her closing remarks, Swiss President Viola Amherd warned that the “road ahead is long and challenging.”

Russia mocked this meeting, as it has been doing for weeks.

“None of the participants in the ‘Peace Forum’ knows what they are doing there and what their role is,” said Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and current deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council.

“It can not go on like this”

After initial Ukrainian successes, in which Kiev repelled an attack on the capital and recaptured territory in the first year of the war, a major Ukrainian counteroffensive using donated Western tanks fizzled out last year. Russian forces still hold a fifth of Ukraine and are advancing again, albeit slowly. No peace talks have taken place for more than two years.

“We know that peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved in one step. It will be a long road,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for “patience and determination.”

“These were not peace negotiations because (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is not serious about ending the war. He insists on surrender, he insists on the ceding of Ukrainian territory – even territory that is not occupied today.”

With no clear path to ending the war, Zelensky emphasized practical issues such as nuclear safety and securing food supplies from Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters.

The summit’s final declaration called for restoring Ukraine’s control over the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and the ports on the Sea of ​​Azov. But in keeping with the conference’s more modest goals, it left out more difficult questions, such as what a post-war settlement for Ukraine might look like, whether Ukraine could join NATO, or how a troop withdrawal on both sides might work.

“The more allies there are who say: ‘This cannot go on like this’, ‘This is too much’, ‘This is going too far’, the greater the moral pressure on the Russian Federation will be,” said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

When Sunday’s talks turned to issues such as food security and nuclear power, some heads of state and government left the event early.

Since the first peace talks in the first months after the invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has consistently demanded Russia’s withdrawal from all of its territory, while Moscow has demanded recognition of its rule over the territories captured by its forces.

Last week, in remarks clearly aimed at the conference, Putin said Russia would not end the war until Kiev completely withdrew its troops from four provinces that Moscow only partially controls and supposedly annexed. Kiev immediately dismissed this as a call for surrender.

“Of course, we fully understand that a time will come when it will be necessary to talk to Russia,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “But our position is very clear: we will not allow Russia to speak in the language of ultimatums, as it does now.”

At the summit, Western leaders supported Kyiv’s refusal to negotiate under such conditions.

“Confusing peace with submission would set a dangerous precedent for everyone,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.