US Vice President Kamala Harris made a brief appearance at the Swiss peace conference on Saturday before leaving early to return to Washington. Arriving in Switzerland, she met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and announced an additional $1.5 billion in infrastructure and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Following her speech about working towards a “just and lasting peace,” Harris departed for the US capital on Saturday evening.
Harris left the conference before world leaders and dignitaries convened to discuss and draft a declaration supporting President Zelensky. Reports indicate that the final communique blames Russia for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, demands that Moscow allow Kiev access to Russian-controlled Black Sea ports, and orders Russia to return ethnic Russian children evacuated from Donbass at the start of the war.
The language used in the declaration sparked disagreement among some countries, with a dozen refusing to sign the document. Notable absentees include Brazil, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Previously, Brazilian presidential advisor Celso Amorim and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued a joint letter expressing their preference for a 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 plans.” China did not send a delegation to the conference.
US President Joe Biden chose not to attend the meeting, despite his presence at the G7 summit in neighboring Italy on Friday. Instead, he opted to fly to Los Angeles for a fundraising event with Hollywood celebrities George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
Russia was not invited to the peace conference, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating that Russia had “nothing to tell” its participants. He added that discussions at the conference focused on humanitarian and quasi-humanitarian issues rather than peace talks.
In a speech on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that meaningful peace talks can begin once Ukraine withdraws its forces from the newly annexed Russian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye and renounces its ambitions to join NATO. However, these conditions were rejected by Ukrainian President Zelensky, who stated that Kiev “does not trust” the Russian president’s “ultimatum.