LUCERNE: World leaders gather in Switzerland on Saturday for a summit aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine, but the absence of powerful allies of Moscow such as China will blunt its potential impact.
Dozens of allies of Ukraine will take part in the summit, but China is staying away after Russia was frozen out of proceedings on the grounds it had dismissed the event as a waste of time and had no interest in attending.
Without China, hopes of isolating Moscow have faded, while recent military reverses have put Kyiv on the back foot. The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has also diverted attention from Ukraine.
The talks are expected to focus on broader concerns triggered by the war, such as food and nuclear security and freedom of navigation, and a draft of the final declaration identifies Russia as the aggressor in the conflict, sources said.
“The summit risks showing the limits of Ukrainian diplomacy,” said Richard Gowan, UN Director at the International Crisis Group. “Nonetheless, it is also a chance for Ukraine to remind the world that it is defending the principles of the UN Charter.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow — demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.
Putin’s conditions apparently reflected Moscow’s growing confidence that its forces have the upper hand in the war.
Moscow casts what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine as part of a broader struggle with the West, which it says wants to bring Russia to its knees. Kyiv and the West reject this and accuse Russia of waging an illegal war of conquest.
Switzerland, which took on the summit at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wants to pave the way for a future peace process that includes Russia.
But geopolitical splits over the deadliest European conflict since World War Two have dogged the event, and Zelensky has even accused Beijing of helping Moscow undermine the gathering, an accusation China’s foreign ministry denied.
China had said it would consider taking part, but ultimately declined because Russia would not be there.
“It’s clear that at the moment, in geopolitical terms, for China the special relationship with Russia takes precedence over any other consideration,” said Bernardino Regazzoni, a former Swiss ambassador to China.
Around 90 countries and organizations have committed to the two-day gathering due to take place at the Buergenstock, a mountaintop resort in central Switzerland. The summit has also had to contend with an alternative plan floated by China.
US Vice President Kamala Harris and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Canada and Japan are among those due to attend. India, Turkiye and Hungary, which maintain friendlier relations with Russia, are also expected to join.
Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, has described the idea of a summit without it as “futile.”
Supporters of Ukraine are marking the Swiss talks with a series of events in the nearby city of Lucerne to draw attention to the war’s humanitarian costs, with a demonstration planned to call for the return of prisoners and children taken to Russia.
European officials privately concede that without support from Moscow’s main allies, the summit’s impact will be limited.
“What can (Zelensky) hope for out of it?” said Daniel Woker, a former Swiss ambassador. “Another small step forward in international solidarity with Ukraine as the victim of Russian aggression.”

KARACHI: Pakistanis thronging markets to buy sacrificial cows, camels and goats for the upcoming Eid Al-Adha complained about rising prices of the livestock this week.
Pakistan has been beset by inflation above 20 percent since May 2022. Last year in May, inflation jumped as high as 38 percent as the country navigated reforms as part of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program.
While inflation has since tapered, at the main cattle market in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, customers said they were still facing higher prices than last year.
“There is no impact of it (inflation slowing down). The prices are higher as compared to last year. The price of an animal that was up to 100,000 rupees ($358) last year is reaching 150,000 rupees ($537) this year,” said a customer, Mohammad Asif.
“It is the government’s claim that they have brought down the inflation whereas it is totally contrary to that here at the market. The prices are like three folds up as compared to last year,” said another buyer, Abdur-Rehman.
Trader Mohammad Chhuttal, who traveled some 540 km (336 miles) from the city of Ghotki to sell his cows and bulls in Karachi, said the impact of last year’s high inflation continued to be felt this year.
Traders said the inflation was hurting the purchasing power of ordinary consumers and noted that there were not only fewer customers in the market compared to last year, but that people would choose smaller animals.
Pakistan is in talks with IMF for a loan estimated to be anything between $6 billion to $8 billion to avert a default for an economy that is growing at the slowest pace in the region.
Pakistan narrowly averted a default last summer thanks to a short-term IMF bailout of $3 billion over nine months.
Muslims around the world celebrate the Eid holiday by slaughtering animals such as cattle and goats as they mark the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son on God’s command. The meat is shared among family and friends and donated to the poor.
The three-day festival of Eid Al-Adha, one of the two most important festivals on the Islamic calendar, will be celebrated from Monday (June 17) in Pakistan this year.