All prisoners, children, civilians who were unlawfully detained must be returned to Ukraine”: Zelenskyy

After the conclusion of a peace summit in Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that all prisoners of war including children and civilians who were unlawfully displaced and detained must be returned to Ukraine.

A two-day summit in Switzerland dedicated to forging a path forward to end the war in Ukraine concluded with key powers spurning a joint communique which was agreed to by more than 80 other countries and international organisations.

“All prisoners of war must be released by complete exchange. All deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children, and all other Ukrainian civilians who were unlawfully detained, must be returned to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a press conference after the summit.

Further, the Ukrainian President also stated that nuclear facilities must be safe and its nuclear plants, including Zaporizhzhia, must be under Ukraine’s control. Any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the war is unacceptable.

“Any use of nuclear energy and nuclear installations must be safe, secured, safe-guarded and environmentally sound. Ukrainian nuclear power plants and installations, including Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, must operate safely and securely under full sovereign control of Ukraine, in line with IAEA principles and under its supervision. Any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the context of the ongoing war against Ukraine is inadmissible,” said Zelenskyy on Sunday.

Ukraine condemned attacks on merchant ships in the Black and Azov Seas and on civilian port infrastructure, stating they are “unacceptable.” He also emphasised that food security should not be used as a weapon in the war.

“Global food security depends on uninterrupted manufacturing and supply of food products. In this regard, free, full and safe commercial navigation, as well as access to sea ports in the Black and Azov Seas, are critical. Attacks on merchant ships in ports and along the entire route, as well as against civilian ports and civilian port infrastructure, are unacceptable,” said the Ukrianian president.

“Food security must not be weaponized in any way. Ukrainian agricultural products should be securely and freely provided to interested third countries,” he added.

Ukraine also believed that reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties, he said

“We, therefore, decided to undertake concrete steps in the future in the above-mentioned areas with further engagement of the representatives of all parties,” said Zelenskyy.

India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, all of whom have important trading relationships with Russia as members of the BRICS economic group, attended the weekend meeting but did not agree to sign the joint statement, CNN reported.

The document reaffirmed the signatories’ commitment to “refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, the principles of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine, within their internationally recognised borders.”

According to CNN, the communique published on Sunday said that signatories had struck several other agreements. Among them was the principle that Ukraine should be allowed its own nuclear power plants, including the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and that the Kremlin refrain from both the use of and the threat of using nuclear weapons.

The peace summit began on June 15 and concluded on June 16, bringing together representatives from 92 countries and organisations to put pressure on Russia to end its war with Ukraine. However, Russia was not invited and China abstained from the summit.