It seemed like a taboo word. Forgotten and buried in the furious declarations of the belligerents. Rarely in recent months had Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky talked about peace. Something is moving, however. In Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Lucerne, almost one hundred world heads of state and government will gather today and tomorrow for the “peace conference” in Ukraine. In Moscow, the Russian president relaunches a “real peace proposal”. Is this a turning point? Just rhetoric, perhaps. Because peace seems like a mirage, seen from Lucerne, where the world’s greats are expected, including the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. China is missing from the summit, especially Russia is missing: what peace can there be if the aggressor doesn’t even sit at the table? Putin’s proposal, then, is not a truce proposal, but “blackmail”, the Western leaders thunder in chorus. In fact, an unconditional surrender of the Ukrainian resistance, which the Tsar asked to retreat. Right now that a glimmer of hope is opening, with the 50 billion dollars in Russian assets frozen by the G7. Shrouded in the fog of propaganda and threats, however, one cannot help but see a new phase. While the summer and the Ukrainian mud risk once again bogging down the actions on the ground in Kiev and Moscow, we are back to talking about negotiations. Too little to see a stop to the dripping in the trenches, enough to set diplomacy in motion. Time will tell.
Bürgenstock, the luxury resort for the peace conference in Switzerland: rooms from over 1300 euros per night, spa and view of Lake Lucerne
){kind=link}