SWITZERLAND has announced that it will host an international conference in June to provide a platform for a high-level dialogue on ways to reach a 'comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine, based on international law and the UN Charter'. Leaders of major Global South countries, including India, and Western nations have been invited. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the summit, even as his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has spoken disdainfully of the scheduled round of peace talks. He has warned that Moscow will not accept any enforced plans that ignore its interests. Claiming that Russia has not even been invited, Putin has retorted: 'They think there is nothing for us to do there, but at the same time they say it's impossible to decide anything without us.' In the same vein, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has dismissed the meet as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv.

It is obvious that no viable peace plan can take shape without Russia's participation and consent. Putin has already dismissed Zelenskyy's formula requiring Moscow to pull back its troops, pay compensation to Ukraine and face an international tribunal for its alleged crimes. The US-led West's ploy to seize the initiative through the Swiss talks can prove counterproductive and further prolong the war, which is in its third year and has caused global upheaval in terms of supply chain disruptions.

The onus is on the host country, which has affirmed that 'peace is at the heart of the Swiss spirit', to go all out to bring Russia to the negotiating table. It's also imperative to have an influential player like China on board. India, which is seen as a potential mediator because of its good ties with both warring nations, needs to play a proactive role to prevent the June summit from coming a cropper and being reduced to a Western show of strength.