Russia sidelined at Davos

Your report on the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos refers (“Top diplomats meet in Davos on Ukraine peace formula”, January 14). We would like to point out one thing that, accidentally or not, slipped the authors’ attention.

Russia wasn’t part of those discussions, which makes them estranged from reality and senseless in terms of conflict settlement. This “peace formula” meeting in Davos was about something else (including, perhaps, a bigger, more diverse family photo than last time). Why wasn’t Russia invited? In 2022 Volodymyr Zelensky legally banned any talks with our country by his decree.

Later, he repeatedly dismissed negotiations. In November, in an interview with Britain’s The Sun newspaper, he said: “Is it difficult on the battlefield? Yes. But making friends or entering the diplomatic table now with Russia? No.” In January 2024 he again ruled out a ceasefire as it would “only benefit Moscow”. But the mainstream media, supporting Western narrative, blames Russia for not being willing to negotiate.

Where’s the logic? It is elsewhere: according to the plans of Kyiv and Western masterminds, the “peace formula” wasn’t supposed to form the basis of Russia-Ukraine negotiations. The ploy apparently was to draw as many states as possible into the discussions to later pass it off as “support” for Zelensky’s “peace formula” and make Russia look as if it opposes the global community and the alleged amicable resolution of the conflict.

The “formula” is a series of unilateral demands and ultimatums to Russia. It cannot serve as a foundation for a peace settlement between Russia, Ukraine and the West as it ignores Russia’s security interests and concerns, including those that led to the special military operation.

lya Rogachev

Russian ambassador to SA