Today, the Prime Minister will travel to Switzerland to reaffirm the UK’s support for Ukraine as the first leader-level peace summit focused on the future of the
country commences.
This significant summit, held near Lucerne, will be attended by over 50 heads of state and governments, making it the largest gathering of world leaders focused solely on Ukraine since the invasion began.
In his address at the summit this evening, the Prime Minister is expected to say:
"Those who aid Russia by providing the weapons of war, or components for those weapons, should look at this summit today. They should look at Bucha, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and reflect on the choice they have made. They are placing themselves on the side of the aggressor and on the wrong side of history. Putin has no interest in a genuine peace. He has launched a sustained diplomatic campaign against this summit, ordering countries to stay away and spinning a phoney narrative about his willingness to negotiate. We should ask Russia why they feel so threatened by a summit discussing the basic principles of territorial integrity, food security, and nuclear safety."
He will further state:
"From a position of strength, we must work with President Zelenskyy to set out the principles for a just and lasting peace, based on international law and the UN Charter. That is the path to a permanent cessation of hostilities. It will show Ukraine that we’ll stand by them when they are ready for negotiations. And it will show Putin’s allies in North Korea, Iran, and elsewhere that we will protect the right of all nations to determine their own future."
During the summit, the Prime Minister is also expected to meet with President Zelenskyy to reiterate the UK’s support for Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of ensuring any future peace deal is sustainable and, crucially, on Ukraine’s terms.
This summit follows the G7 meeting in Italy earlier this week, where the UK, alongside its G7 partners, announced 50 new sanctions to degrade Putin’s war machine and committed £242 million in bilateral assistance to Ukraine to support immediate humanitarian, energy, and stabilization needs.
Additionally, the UK and the G7 agreed to provide Ukraine with a new $50 billion loan, which will be repaid through the extraordinary revenues from the frozen assets of Russia’s central bank, both in Europe and around the world.
National Security Advisor Sir Tim Barrow is also expected to attend the two-day summit in Switzerland. Photo by Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland, Wikimedia commons.