The “legitimacy” summit or the Swiss hopak

Yesterday, Bloomberg and then other Western media described the details of the high-level peace summit that Switzerland is ready to host for Ukraine.

The main messages are:

• the summit could take place on June 16-17, although it is not yet clear how many leaders will attend;
• it is expected that between 80 and 100 countries will be invited to the event, mainly from the so-called Global South;
• Kyiv wants broad agreement on key principles that will form the basis of any future settlement before engaging with Moscow, and therefore offers from some countries to participate in the Russian summit cannot be accepted.

At the same time, it is clearly stated that there is not yet 100% confidence that China will join the summit. Ukraine's allies see China's presence as important to the success of the meeting, given the influence Beijing has over Moscow. Beijing took part in only one meeting between national security advisers, aimed at laying the groundwork for the summit.

A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry said: “The date and location of the conference have not yet been determined. In addition to the perspectives of Ukraine, Russia and Europe, it is also important to listen to the Global South, which will play a key role in the eventual inclusion of Russia in this process. That is why we are in close contact with China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.”

Now let’s decipher what’s happening, first of all through the prism of ZeTeam’s wishes:

• We always draw attention to the fact that in the conditions of the now stable retreat on the LBS, the Ukrainian leadership vitally needs long-term information “traps” that will distract the population from real assessments of what is happening. The “Peace Summit” in Switzerland is such an information trap.

But two main tasks:

• This, as we have already written, is to consolidate the “Zelensky peace formula” as the only option for resolving the conflict for the West and begin to transfer it to some countries of the Global South.
• However, in preparation for a period of “vague legitimacy,” the primary task is to give the legally illegitimate president of Ukraine a completely legitimate status after May 21.

Thus, the expected “peace summit” turns, among other things, into a “summit of legitimacy” and recognition of Zelensky. And then it’s completely unimportant:

• number of countries participating in the meeting,
• level of representation,
• the number of countries that will sign the final document.

Main result – countries from different parts of the world will unanimously discuss the “peace formula” of Ukrainian President Zelensky. After statements following Lavrov’s visit to China, it became clear that the “Swiss hopak” in reality will not have any diplomatic consequences if Russia is not there, but, of course, it is vitally important for Zelensky and Ermak.

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