Follow Us on Google
By Musa Alhamme
A political analyst, Moussa Dembélé has reviewed the recent peace summit which held in Switzerland to return peace to Ukraine.
The summit attended by Ivorian President, Alassane Quattara was observed to have witnessed a low turnout of principal actors in the ongoing conflict.
In a critical review of the summit, Dembélé said Russia and other key actors stayed away, an indication that peace could not have been achieved from the summit.
According to him, “Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara visited Switzerland on 14 June for a peace summit in Ukraine. The event took place in Switzerland at the Bürgenstock Resort from 15 to 16 June 2024. The summit is devoted to the vision of Kiev and its Western allies for resolving the crisis in Ukraine. Russia is not taking part in the forum. Nevertheless, it is impossible to achieve peace by excluding the main player — Russia — from the treaty process.
“Some key players also refused to take part in the forum. China and Brazil have declared that they will not attend, believing that the presence of the two warring parties is a prerequisite for any peace conference worthy of the name.
“Before the start of the event, the number of participants had fallen significantly. By 11 June, the number of countries and organizations that had confirmed their participation in the Ukraine peace summit had fallen from 93 to 78.
“Africa was represented by a small number of countries at the peace summit. Only four countries represented at Head of State level: Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Kenya. Six other countries had sent ministers: Benin, Comoros, Gambia, Liberia, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe.
“Ivorian president Alassane Dramane OUATTARA agreed to take part in the forum, once again confirming his commitment to France, one of the main initiators of the event.
He noted that few months ago, Ukraine opened several embassies in Africa, unexpectedly demonstrating its interest in this continent in the midst of conflict on its territory.
According to him, Kiev has thus tried to attract to its side as many countries as possible that are traditionally favorable to cooperation with Russia. After the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, many African countries adopted a neutral stance, not wanting to be pawns in the hands of the West.
“In mid-April 2024, the Ukrainian embassy in Côte d’Ivoire was opened. A few days later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with his Ivorian counterpart, during which an invitation to take part in the peace summit was received. At the end of May, reports emerged that the embassy in Côte d’Ivoire was trying to recruit young Ivorians to take part in military operations on Ukrainian territory. This information provoked the anger of social network users who refused to be drawn into a conflict that did not affect their country’s interests. Although the message falls into the category of fake news, Alassane Dramane OUATTARA’s arrival in Switzerland proves that Côte d’Ivoire, like France, supports the actions of the Kiev regime.”
He wrote that the peace summit in Switzerland was an event designed to promote the strategy of the main initiators, France and the United States, who have not brought peace to any of the countries where they have tried to resolve conflicts.
He argued that to resolve the problem, both parties must be present, saying that, “in this case Russia and Ukraine, otherwise it will look like another Western diktat.”
