Joe Biden will not visit in person, a decision that has angered Mr Zelenskyy. And attempts to bring on board major countries of the “Southern Hemisphere” that are not Ukraine's instinctive allies have been only partially successful.
India, Brazil and China are all either no-shows or sending low-level representatives.
Russian officials lined up to dismiss the incident as unimportant. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was “worthless” and a “dead end.” But Moscow is nonetheless pressuring its allies to boycott the summit.
“That is a minus,” admits Oleksandr Merezhko. “China appears to have decided to support Russia, not the peace process, and not the peace process, but the aggressor, as a strategic partner without restrictions.”
On the eve of the event, Vladimir Putin sought to add another spanner in the works by outlining his conditions for the supposed peace. The man who invaded Ukraine without provocation now wants Kiev to surrender.
Among other things, Putin is demanding that Ukraine hand over to Ukraine all four regions it claims were annexed by Russia, including those that remain under Kiev's control.
Kiev immediately dismissed this as “nonsense.”
The meeting on Lake Lucerne will address the three least controversial aspects of President Zelenskyy's peace formula: nuclear security issues, food supplies to global markets, and the repatriation of kidnapped Ukrainian children and prisoners.
Deviating beyond that would not be productive.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia are ready to give up the fight now.
“From Ukraine's perspective, when you look at what's happening on the front lines, I think what they really need is a commitment to peace, certainly not at any cost,” argues Sam Greene of Kiev's allies.
“They need dedication to win the war.”
