BURGENSTOCK, Switzerland: World leaders will gather in Switzerland this weekend to try to lay out a roadmap for an eventual peace process for Ukraine — albeit without Russia.
The gathering at the luxury Burgenstock resort, on a mountain ridge overlooking Lake Lucerne, comes immediately after the G7 summit in southern Italy, during which the wealthy democracies will also discuss Ukraine in the presence of its president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
The G7, running from Thursday to Saturday, will look at ways to use frozen Russian assets to provide fresh aid to Ukraine, invaded by Russia in February 2022.
Zelensky will then head to Switzerland, to be joined by G7 and other leaders on Saturday and Sunday for what is being billed as the first “Summit on Peace in Ukraine.”
“We would like to have a very broad process with a view to lasting, just peace in Ukraine,” Swiss President Viola Amherd told a press conference in Bern on Monday.
She said the event would lay the groundwork “for a future peace summit that would involve Russia.”
“The conference will focus on topics of global interest — nuclear security, food security and humanitarian aspects,” she added.
Switzerland invited more than 160 delegations, representing countries and international organizations.
Amherd said more than 90 confirmations had been received so far — around half from European nations — with about 50 percent of countries represented by their heads of state or government.
Attendees include French President Emmanuel Macron, US Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Organized at Ukraine’s request, the outcome of the summit remains uncertain, though Switzerland is hoping to secure a joint final declaration.
“We need to do everything we can to bring an end to this violence,” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told the press conference.
“At the end of this road there is not just world stability and safety but also the end of suffering for millions of victims,” he said.
The program, sculpted by Bern, draws on a 10-point peace plan presented by Zelensky in late 2022. Ukraine hopes to gain broad international support for its conditions to end the war.
Amherd said the summit aimed to find paths toward a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine, based on international law and the United Nations charter; a possible framework to achieve this goal; and a roadmap as to how both warring parties could come together in a future peace process.
It will also touch on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and on prisoners of war.
Up to 4,000 Swiss troops will be on duty, while 6.5 kilometers (four miles) of steel fencing is going up.
Military vehicles buzzed around the Burgenstock mountain on Monday, with troops laying a temporary helipad in the valley behind the hotel complex.
“My division is familiar with the area, with the people, and we are trained to deal with circumstances such as these,” said Major General Daniel Keller, adding that his troops “are ready to take action if required.”
Switzerland said there had already been cyberattacks and extreme misinformation surrounding the conference, without giving details.
The summit comes as Russia on Monday claimed the capture of another village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
After almost a year of stalemate, Ukraine has been forced to abandon dozens of front-line settlements this spring, with Russian troops holding a significant advantage in manpower and resources.
The Kremlin has repeatedly indicated it will not participate in any negotiations if Kyiv does not accept Moscow’s annexation of the approximately 20 percent of Ukrainian territory Russia currently occupies.
As Moscow said it was not interested in participating in the summit, Bern did not issue an invitation.
Further summits hosted by other nations are tentatively envisaged.
Cassis said it was more a question of “when Russia will be on board” in the process rather than if.
As for China, he said it would not attend a summit without Russia at the table.
“It’s difficult for China to participate at the moment,” he said, adding that Beijing had hitherto “really helped give us a hand on this journey.”
Cassis welcomed the possibility of parallel peace proceedings involving China and other states not coming to the Burgenstock summit.
“Anything that can be done to walk through that mindset would be beneficial, because the mindset might be different,” he said.
Swiss summit on Ukraine set to thrash out path to peace
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Swiss summit on Ukraine set to thrash out path to peace
- Amherd said more than 90 confirmations had been received so far — around half from European nations — with about 50 percent of countries represented by their heads of state or government
Bangladesh to seek Interpol alert for fugitive ex-PM Hasina loyalists
- Dozens of Hasina loyalists accused of involvement in bloody crackdown have been arrested
- Red notices issued by Interpol alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives
DHAKA: Bangladesh said Sunday it would request an Interpol “red notice” alert for fugitive leaders of the ousted regime of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was toppled in a revolution in August.
“Those responsible for the indiscriminate killings during the mass uprising in July and August will be brought back from wherever they have taken refuge,” Asif Nazrul, the interim government’s law adviser, told reporters on Sunday.
“We will ensure they are arrested and brought to justice.”
Dozens of Hasina’s allies have been taken into custody since her regime collapsed, accused of involvement in a police crackdown that killed more than 700 people during the unrest that led to her ouster.
France-based Interpol publishes red notices at the request of a member nation, based on an arrest warrant issued in their home country.
Nazrul did not mention any individual by name, but Bangladesh has already issued an arrest warrant for 77-year-old Hasina — last seen arriving in India after fleeing by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.
Hasina’s 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Red notices issued by the global police body alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives.
Nazrul said they would request a red notice “as soon as possible.”
India is a member of Interpol, but the red notice does not mean New Delhi must hand Hasina over.
Member countries can “apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person,” according to the group, which organizes police cooperation between 196 member countries.
Hasina has been summoned to appear in court in Dhaka on November 18 to face charges of “massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity.”
Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told AFP on Sunday that the court had “sought arrest warrants for more than 60 individuals,” and that “so far, around 25 have been arrested,.”
Indonesia, China seal $10bn in deals on President Prabowo’s first overseas trip
- China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner and source of $7bn worth of investment
- Prabowo will continue his first overseas tour to US, South America, UK, Middle East
Jakarta: Indonesian and Chinese companies signed business agreements worth more than $10 billion on Sunday, as the two countries agreed to strengthen ties during a state visit by President Prabowo Subianto to Beijing.
Prabowo on Sunday wrapped up the first stop of his first overseas tour since taking office last month. After China, he will head to the US before making his way to South America for the APEC and G20 summits, which will be followed by trips to the UK and the Middle East.
He and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to deepen ties on Saturday, elevating security to a fifth “pillar” of cooperation, on top of political, economic, maritime and people-to-people exchange. The two countries will hold a first-ever joint meeting of their foreign and defense ministers next year, according to a joint statement.
“Indonesia and the People’s Republic of China are committed to strengthening our friendship and furthering the prosperity of our two nations,” Prabowo wrote on X on Sunday.
Before leaving Beijing for Washington, Indonesia’s new leader presided over a ceremony between the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and top Chinese corporations, during which they inked billions of dollars worth of deals on renewable energy, and health and food security, among other issues.
“The strong participation of Chinese businesses in Asia is an important element in close cooperation between our two countries. I have met the president and prime minister, where we agreed to continue this collaboration,” Prabowo said at the Indonesia-China Business Forum in Beijing, as reported by state news agency Antara.
“This is part of our synergy across all sectors, in education, business, industries, people-to-people … we are very optimistic about the prospects,” he added.
“We must give an example that in this modern age, collaboration — not confrontation — is the way for peace and prosperity.”
China, which was also Prabowo’s initial foreign destination as president-elect in April, is Indonesia’s biggest trading partner and the source of more than $7 billion of investment.
“The visit to China is significant because China currently supports Indonesia’s ambitious economic program through investment, including industrial downstreaming programs. China also supports various infrastructure projects … Prabowo has met Xi Jinping before and this visit strengthens the ties,” Dr. Ahmad Rizky Mardhatillah Umar, an Indonesian political researcher at the UK’s Aberystwyth University, told Arab News.
Economic and defense affairs appear to be a top priority for Prabowo for his overseas tour, which includes China and the US, the world’s two biggest economies.
“He's trying to balance and hedge between two sides,” Umar said. “He is trying to maximize economic benefits with China with trade and investment, and to bolster defense ties with the US for defense modernization.”
His choice of China as the first stop on his multi-country trip is likely a strategy to lure more investment from the US, said Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations expert from Padjadjaran University in West Java.
“This development will become an ammunition for Prabowo when he speaks with American businesses,” he said. “He’ll be able to say: If you want to make a comeback in Southeast Asia and be part of the economy, this is now the time.”
Prabowo is trying to establish his own legacy early on, Rezasyah added. Though the president has said he will continue the programs started by his predecessor, Joko Widodo, those are matters related to domestic affairs.
“He wants to give the international community some confidence that they’re dealing with the right person in their language because Prabowo speaks more than one international language,” Rezasyah said, referring to Prabowo’s ability to speak English, Dutch, French and German.
“So, he can easily convince the world.”
King Charles leads silence for UK war dead as Kate returns to public life
- Catherine watched the ceremony from a government building balcony as she stepped up her return to royal duties since ending chemotherapy in September
LONDON: King Charles III led Britain in two minutes of silence on Sunday to honor the country’s war dead at a remembrance service also attended by Catherine, Princess of Wales, as she returns to royal duties after cancer treatment.
The king, who was also diagnosed with cancer this year, was among the dignitaries laying wreaths at the Cenotaph memorial in central London after the nation fell silent at 11:00 am (1100 GMT).
Crowds lined the Whitehall area of the capital as political leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, current and former members of the armed forces, and war veterans paid their respects to Britons killed in the world wars and other conflicts.
Catherine, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, watched the ceremony from a government building balcony as she stepped up her return to royal duties since ending chemotherapy in September.
The event came after she smiled and clapped alongside William at the Festival of Remembrance commemorative concert on Saturday night, the first major royal occasion she had attended since her treatment.
The events, two of the most important dates in the royal calendar, marked the first time the princess had carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements this year.
Buckingham Palace announced in February that Charles, 75, had been diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer and would withdraw from public life to undergo treatment.
The following month Kate, 42, revealed that she also had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
Both have since made limited returns to public duties, with Charles recently pausing his treatment while on tour in Australia and Samoa.
William said this week that the past year had been “brutal” and probably the “hardest” of his life because of the twin diagnoses.
“Honestly, it’s been dreadful,” he told reporters on Thursday at the end of a four-day visit to South Africa for his Earthshot prize initiative.
“So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”
Queen Camilla, Charles’s wife, missed the remembrance events due to a chest infection.
Services took place across the United Kingdom, including in Belfast where Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill became the first senior figure from the pro-Irish unity party Sinn Fein to attend a Remembrance Sunday service in the province.
O’Neill said her attendance backed her commitment to “moving beyond old limits and building bridges.”
Sinn Fein was the political wing of the paramilitary IRA during the Troubles — the three-decade sectarian conflict over British rule in Northern Ireland.
UK minister rules out using Nigel Farage as link to Trump
- Nigel Farage, the Brexit-campaigner and self-described troublemaker, is a friend of Donald Trump
- He has offered to act as an interlocutor between the British government and the Trump administration
LONDON: A British minister said on Sunday that the government is unlikely to ask the Reform party leader Nigel Farage to act as an intermediary to deal with US President-elect Donald Trump.
Farage, the Brexit-campaigner and self-described troublemaker, is a friend of Trump and was at his election victory party in Florida.
He has offered to act as an interlocutor between the British government and the Trump administration, which takes power in January.
The Treasury minister Darren Jones said on Sunday that the government would likely reject that offer.
“I think that’s probably unlikely,” he told Sky News, saying Farage, who is a member of parliament, should probably spend his time with his constituents rather than in the United States.
Governments around the world are trying to figure out how to deal with Trump, who has promised to increase tariffs and whose first four-year term was characterized by a protectionist trade policy and isolationist rhetoric, including threats to withdraw from NATO.
Starmer delayed starting a recruitment process for a new ambassador to Washington until the result of the US election was known.
The role will be crucial in the coming years in navigating Britain’s relationship with the Trump administration.
Farage said at the weekend he has “a great relationship” with Trump and would be willing to act as an intermediary for the government because it is in the national interest.
Indian soldiers battle Kashmir militants, one killed
- Police say two separate gunfights taking place in Zabarwan and Baramulla areas of Indian-administered Kashmir
- Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan since their partition at end of British rule in 1947
NEW DELHI: Indian troops on Sunday were battling with gunmen in Indian-administered Kashmir with one suspected militant killed, the army said, the latest violence in the long-running insurgency in the disputed Muslim-majority territory.
Police said two separate gunfights were taking place in the Himalayan region, with fighting reported in both the Zabarwan and Baramulla areas.
“One terrorist has been neutralized by the security forces,” the army’s Chinar Corps said, a term they use indicating a gunman had been killed.
Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan since their partition at the chaotic end of British rule in 1947, and both countries claim the territory in full.
India has at least 500,000 troops deployed in Kashmir in a bid to end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and militants since 1989.
Militant groups demand either independence or its merger with Pakistan.
New Delhi regularly blames Pakistan for arming militants and helping them launch attacks, an allegation Islamabad denies.
Last week, an attacker hurled a grenade at a busy market in the main city of Srinagar, wounding 12 people.
Attacks since October have included gunmen launching an ambush on an army convoy, as well as firing on a construction camp, killing seven people.
On Wednesday, Kashmir’s newly-elected regional assembly passed a resolution demanding New Delhi restore the territory’s partial autonomy, canceled in 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
