Nations discuss children, nuclear safety at talks on peace in Ukraine taking place without Russia

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

OBBÜRGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Countries resumed talks Sunday on how to iron out issues of nuclear safety, prisoner exchanges and exports of food from Ukraine that have arisen due to Russia’s two-year war there, and ways to bring peace to Ukraine — even though Moscow is not represented.

Leaders from many Western countries and others including Ecuador, Somalia and Kenya were meeting in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock to lay out their visions of what peace could look like in Ukraine one day. Many hope that Russia will join in one day, but say it needs to agree to respect Ukraine’s territory — about one quarter of which it occupies.

“If we reverse, to a global system where the organizing principle is ‘might is right,’ the independence we enjoy today as free nations will be at serious risk,” said Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, as leader’s speeches continued for a second day. “This is an existential issue.”

Analysts say the two-day conference will likely have little concrete impact toward ending the war because the country leading and continuing it, Russia, was not invited — for now. Its key ally, China, which did not attend, and Brazil, which was on hand at the meeting as an “observer,” have jointly sought to plot alternative routes toward peace.

The meeting also endeavored to return a spotlight to the war at a time when conflict in Gaza, national elections and other concerns have seized global attention.

The three themes of nuclear safety, food security and prisoner exchanges were expected to feature in a final statement. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said they amounted to “minimum conditions” for negotiations with Russia, alluding to how many other areas of disagreement between Kyiv and Moscow will be harder to overcome.

Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, noted a day earlier how his rich Gulf country hosted talks with both Ukrainian and Russian delegations on the reunification of Ukrainian children with their families that has so far resulted in 34 children being reunited.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking to reporters at the resort on Saturday, said it’s “going to take work” and countries stepping up to build on efforts by nations like Qatar.

“It’s going to take a spotlight from the international community, not just from only voices from the United States or Europe, but from unusual voices as well to say what Russia has done here is more than reprehensible and must be reversed,” he said.

The Ukrainian government believes that 19,546 children have been deported or forcibly displaced, and Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova has previously confirmed that at least 2,000 were taken from Ukrainian orphanages.

Montenegro Prime Minister Milojko Spajic told the gathering Sunday: “As a father of three, I’m deeply concerned by thousands of Ukrainian kids forcibly transferred to Russia or Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine.”

“We all at this table need to do more so that children of Ukraine are back in Ukraine,” he added.

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Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.