'Ukraine Peace Formula': West Targets Intra-BRICS Unity Ahead of Swiss Summit

The West is seeking to wedge a divide among the BRICS nations by extending invitations to China, India, Brazil and South Africa to attend the upcoming so-called Peace Summit in Switzerland in June, which will be discussing the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's '10-point peace formula', geopolitical experts have told Sputnik India.

"By inviting all BRICS members barring Russia, the West is clearly trying to wedge a divide in the BRICS. I believe that there is no point whatsoever for India to take part in the Switzerland Summit as it is bound to end in failure," stated Brigadier (retired) V Mahalingam, an Indian Army veteran and a geopolitical pundit.

Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, a Senior Research Fellow an New Delhi-based think tank NatStrat, also suspected that the West was targeting intra-BRICS unity to influence countries such as India, China and Brazil to take a more pro-western stance on Ukraine.

"That could potentially be the case since the Global South countries have not taken any sides in this conflict. Hence, the West would be focusing on the Global South countries in order to change their stance on Russia-Ukraine matter," Sharma suggested.

He said that the Summit was part of ongoing Western plans to "isolate" Russia.

The BRICS nations, much like many others in the Global South, have refused to vote against Russia at the United Nations (UN) despite consistent western pressure.

On the other hand, Global South nations have accused the West of ignoring the adverse spillovers of the Ukraine conflict in terms of higher energy and food prices.

'West Trying to Disrupt India-Russia Ties'

Sharma remarked that the "western pressure" on India to take a "pro-Ukraine" stance was very much visible at present.

"The Western pressure on India to take a pro-Ukraine stance is an attempt to permanently disrupt India’s time-tested relationship with Russia. However, Russia-Ukraine problem is just not a matter of ‘white’ or ‘black’, it also has some ‘grey’ shades, as India sees it," the pundit emphasised.

In fact, a new NatStrat publication co-authored by Sharma and former Indian envoy to Moscow, Pankaj Saran, also notes the fact that "shadow boxing" in Ukraine over the expansion of NATO had been going on for more than 20 years before reaching a "boiling point" in 2022.

Mahalingam suggested that the US was aware of India's "strong standing" in the Global South, which it was hoping to leverage to garner support for its ceasefire proposal among other developing nations.

"The US is aware about India's strong standing in Global South. It is hoping that India's potential support to the Ukraine's Peace Formula would resonate across the Global South, which would then follow suit," Mahalingam said.

Switzerland Summit Expected to be a 'One Sided' Affair: Experts

Mahalingam stated that the Switzerland Summit was expected to be a "one-sided affair" reflecting only the Western viewpoint.

"The Ukraine war is essentially a US supported and instigated conflict that Ukraine is fighting with Russia. The US wants that the operations in Ukraine should terminate on North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) terms. That is why the US is backing Zelenskyy's 10-point peace formula. As far as I could see, this appears to be a west-led meeting to strategise on how to approach Russia with a proposal for peace," Mahalingam said.

The veteran Indian Brigadier confidently stated that Moscow won't accept any ceasefire proposal that didn't address the question of its "security guarantees", including a neutral status for Ukraine and a commitment that NATO won't expand near its eastern borders.

"The 10-point formula would project US' point of view. I suspect that the whatever comes out of the Switzerland Summit is bound to fail once that proposal is taken up with Russia. To me, the US and western allies already know that the Switzerland Summit is bound to fail. They would like to ultimately blame Russia for its failure," stated Mahalingam.

Sharma, for his part, echoed the views.

"Without Russian participation, a one-sided narrative could emerge from this conference that would not help any kind of resolution of this problem. It would certainly not help if the agenda of this conference is to isolate Russia," the think-tanker said.

He reckoned that India might be represented at the Switzerland conference, as it has been trying to play the role of a "peacemaker" between Russia and Ukraine.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a briefing in New Delhi last week that India was yet to take a call on whether to attend the Swiss conference.

New Delhi has consistently urged for "dialogue and diplomacy" to end the Ukraine conflict and said it remains supportive of peace efforts. New Delhi attended the 'Copenhagen Format' talks held to discuss the Ukrainian Peace Plan.

Meanwhile, media reports suggest that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is circumspect about the success of the Swiss summit as it doesn't involve Russia.

Beijing, meanwhile, has also been backing a "political solution" to the conflict through talks between Russia and Ukraine.

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28 April, 15:23