Key powers fail to sign peace summit communique

Keyregional powers including Brazil, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia failed to sign up to a joint communique issued at the end of a Ukraine peace conference in which more than 80 countries and international organisations endorsed its territorial integrity in the face of Russia's invasion.

- Jennifer Rankin

Speaking at the end of the two-day summit in Switzerland, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, welcomed the "first steps toward peace" but acknowledged that not all attenders had come onboard, saying that Russia was trying to divide the world.

He said the final communique remained "open for accession by everyone who respects the UN charter".

About 100 countries took part in the conference in the resort of Bürgenstock, but Russia was not invited and China snubbed the event. Amid modest expectations ahead of the event, western diplomats argued that its significance lay partly in its participants. Attenders were mostly from Europe, the US and other western allies, but included countries from Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.