LETTER: 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 obviously 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? Back in 2022 Volodymyr Zelensky legally banned any talks with our country by his own decree. Later, he repeatedly dismissed the idea of 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 on the battlefield, as it would allegedly “only benefit Moscow”. 

But the mainstream media, supporting Western narrative, persists in blaming 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 even 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 entire global community and the alleged amicable resolution of the conflict.  

The “peace formula” is nothing other than a series of unilateral demands and ultimatums to Russia. It cannot serve as a foundation for a peace settlement between Russia, Ukraine and the collective West because it completely ignores Russia’s security interests and concerns — including those that led to the special military operation. 

Ilya Rogachev 
Russian ambassador to SA 

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