Westâs Ukraine Summit Failed: Global South Rejected Pro-War âPeace Conferenceâ
By Ben Norton – Jun 18, 2024
Countries representing the vast majority of the world population rejected the Westâs pro-war Ukraine âpeace summitâ in Switzerland, to which Russia was not invited. Only a few small nations in the Global South endorsed the BĂźrgenstock conference declaration.
The Western powers held a conference in Switzerland in June in an attempt to gain more international support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The vast majority of the world population, in the Global South, rebuked this so-called âSummit on Peace in Ukraineâ, to which Russia was not invited.
Only 78 countries, mostly in Europe, endorsed the meetingâs final declaration. Together, these nations represented a small minority of the global population.
At least 160 countries were invited to the conference from June 15 to 16 in BĂźrgenstock, Switzerland. Just around 90 ended up attending, and most sent low-level officials.
A total of 78 countries signed the âBĂźrgenstock Declarationâ. Major nations chose not to endorse the statement, including Brazil, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
CNBC lamented that the summit âlacks cloutâ, and was boycotted by China, in protest of the fact that Russia was not invited.
Switzerlandâs state media outlet Swissinfo conceded that the âUkraine peace summit failed to meet âfairytaleâ expectationsâ, and that the joint communiquĂŠ âwas rejected by several key countriesâ.
One of the reasons that so many Global South nations opposed the BĂźrgenstock Declaration was because it blamed the war solely on Russia, not acknowledging the role of NATO expansion in fueling the conflict, and not recognizing Moscowâs legitimate security concerns.
In racist rant, Zelensky claims China and Brazil are not âcivilizedâ
Ukraineâs NATO-backed leader Volodymyr Zelensky angrily responded to the Global Southâs criticism with racist rhetoric, asserting that China and Brazil are not âcivilizedâ like the West.
âAs soon as Brazil and China join the principles that all of us here, civilized countries, have united, we will be happy to hear their opinions, sometimes even if they do not coincide with the majority of the worldâ, Zelensky said at the summit, according to an official Ukrainian media translation.
Zelenskyâs claim that âthe majority of the worldâ is with his government is objectively false. The vote at the conference demonstrated that only a small minority of countries support Ukraineâs NATO-backed war efforts.
China makes numerous peace proposals; West rejects them
China has made numerous peace proposals in an attempt to end the war in Ukraine.
In February 2023, Beijing introduced a 12-point peace plan to try to foster a political settlement. The US and its European allies rejected this initiative.
In May 2024, China and Brazil issued a joint proposal for negotiations, calling for an âinternational peace conference held at a proper time that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties as well as fair discussion of all peace plansâ.
Zelenskyâs âPeace Conferenceâ Will Go down in History, but Not in the Way You Might Think
While the West rebuked these offers, the BĂźrgenstock Declaration ironically ended up borrowing several points from Chinaâs proposals, albeit by watering them down and removing the demands for a cessation of hostilities and peace talks.
Although Beijing boycotted the June 2024 Swiss conference in protest of Russiaâs absence, it continued to promote its own peace plan.
As the BĂźrgenstock summit concluded, Chinaâs deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, reiterated at the UN Security Council, âChina calls on the parties to the conflict to demonstrate political will, come together, and start peace talks as soon as possible to achieve a ceasefire and halt military actionsâ.
Colombiaâs President Petro says Ukraine summit seeks more war, not peace
Colombiaâs left-wing President Gustavo Petro criticized the Swiss summit, writing on the day the event began that âit is not a free forum to discuss paths to peace between Russia and Ukraine. Its conclusions are already predeterminedâ.
Petro insisted that âdialogue between Russia and Ukraine is fundamentalâ. He also called for âthe establishment of a security zone without nuclear weapons that physically separates NATO from Russiaâ.
The Colombian president revealed that he had been invited to the meeting, but chose not to attend, because âwhat we have found in the conference is basically an alignment with the side of war, and we do not agree with that; Latin America does not want more war, what it wants is the construction of peace, as soon as possibleâ.
đ´El Presidente @PetroGustavo ha decidido suspender su visita e invitaciĂłn a la "Conferencia de Paz" en Suiza: "lo que hemos encontrado en la conferencia es bĂĄsicamente un alinderamiento al lado de la guerra y nosotros no estamos de acuerdo con eso; AmĂŠrica Latina no quiere mĂĄs⌠pic.twitter.com/M3LFw1KLJ9
— Presidencia Colombia đ¨đ´ (@infopresidencia) June 15, 2024
Ben Norton
Benjamin Norton is the founder and editor of the independent news website Multipolarista, where he does original reporting in both English and Spanish. Benjamin has reported from numerous countries, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Colombia, and more. His journalistic work has been published in dozens of media outlets, and he has done interviews on Sky News, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, El Financiero Bloomberg, Al Mayadeen teleSUR, RT, TRT World, CGTN, Press TV, HispanTV, Sin Censura, and various TV channels in Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Benjamin writes a regular column for Al Mayadeen (in English and Spanish). He was formerly a reporter with the investigative journalism website The Grayzone, and previously produced the political podcast and video show Moderate Rebels. His personal website is BenNorton.com, and he tweets at @BenjaminNorton.
