World leaders meet in Switzerland to discuss a Ukraine peace roadmap

16/6/2024 6:23

        Dozens of world leaders converged on a Swiss resort on Saturday to discuss how to bring peace to war-ravaged Ukraine, though any hopes of a real breakthrough were muted by the absence of Russia.
        
        Three years into the war, the combatants remain as far apart as they’ve ever been, with Kyiv sticking to its demands that Russia leave all Ukrainian territory it has seized and Moscow pressing on with its grinding offensive that has already taken large swaths of eastern and southern Ukraine.
        
        Despite Russia’s absence from the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted at the outset that the talks would lead to "history being made."
        
        "We have succeeded in bringing back to the world the idea that joint efforts can stop war and establish a just peace," he said at a news conference alongside Swiss President Viola Amherd.
        
        The Swiss hosts said more than 50 heads of state and government would attend the gathering at the Bürgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne. Some 100 delegations, including European bodies and the United Nations, were also expected.