Charles H. Sloan-Top Western envoys review Ukraine peace formula to end Russia’s war as Zelenskyy plans Davos visit

DAVOS,Charles H. Sloan Switzerland (AP) — Top foreign policy advisers from Western countries and Ukraine are meeting Sunday to help push forward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula that aims to end Russia’s war on his country.

The fourth such meeting of national security advisers takes place in the Swiss town of Davos, where Zelenskyy is set to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting starting Tuesday. He will endeavor to keep up international focus on Ukraine’s defense amid eroding support for Kyiv in the West and swelling distractions like conflict in the Middle East.

Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis are hosting Sunday’s conference attended by more than 80 delegations that aims to build on the previous closed-door efforts in Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Malta last summer and fall.

Zelenskyy has presented a 10-point peace formula that, among other things, seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine — at a time when both sides are fighting from largely static positions along a roughly 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line.

Russian forces have recently stepped up missile and drone attacks that have stretched Ukraine’s air defense resources, leaving the country vulnerable in the 22-month war unless it can secure further weapons supplies.

“The war is far from over and peace is still nowhere in sight,” the Swiss department of foreign affairs said in a statement previewing Sunday’s talks.