Swiss diplomat: China needs to help end war in Ukraine

China needs to be involved in efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine, Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis told a news conference in Davos on Jan. 14, Reuters reported.

"China plays a significant role. We must find ways to work with China on this," Cassis said after a meeting of top diplomats who had gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum to discuss Ukraine's peace plan.

"A peace for the Ukrainian people is urgently necessary ... We must do everything to end this war," Cassis said.

Eighty countries and one international organization attended the fourth national security advisers' meeting on Ukraine’s Peace Formula at Davos, Switzerland, according to Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the president.

That’s an increase from the 66 attendees at the previous meeting, held in Malta, Yermak said. The Davos meeting had 39 countries from Europe, 18 from Asia, 12 from Africa, six from South America, three from North America and two from Oceania.

China was not among the countries represented at the meetings of national security advisers.  

Yermak highlighted Russia's recent missile attacks and the fact that Ukraine recaptured more than 50% of its territory from Russia. He also said that Ukraine destroyed a fifth of Russia's Black Sea fleet’s capacity, despite not having a peer-scale navy.

This is the second large-scale event organized in Switzerland to support Ukraine after the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano in July 2022.

According to a Swiss Foreign Ministry statement put out before the gathering, the main goal of the meetings was “to finalize the talks at the level of national security advisers on principles for a lasting and just peace in Ukraine.”

The 10 different parts of Ukraine’s peace plan have been discussed with 10 working groups at the national security advisors level. Switzerland, in particular, has been involved in working groups on nuclear safety, food security, and the war's end.

The Ukraine Peace Formula includes the restoration of the country's territorial integrity, a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, and holding those responsible for war crimes accountable.

The 10-point peace plan has received broad support among Ukraine's Western allies.

Estonian PM: ‘Our taxpayers shouldn’t pay for damages caused by Russia’

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Estonia has been one of Ukraine’s most reliable allies since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion. A small Baltic country of just 1.3 million people that also shares a border with Russia, Estonia has provided

The Kyiv IndependentToma Istomina