Russia is not at the summit, and neither is its largest backer, China.

Despite the prominent no-shows, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hopes the world would work towards a just peace.

Representatives from over 90 countries gathered to try and forge a peace plan for Ukraine.

Notably absent is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not invited.

The decision to exclude a warring party was met with criticism from some countries, including scepticism from a close ally, Ukraine's second largest donor, Germany.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said negotiation was crucial, but stressed that it was Russia that chose war.

No country wants peace more than Ukraine.

But let us be honest, peace is more than the absence of war.

It is true peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved without involving Russia.

But let us not forget that as we speak, Russia continues to relentlessly wage its brutal war.

Zelensky defended the decision to exclude Russia, and said Moscow would be informed when the time was right.

There is no Russia here.

Why?

Because if Russia was interested in peace, there would be no war.

We must decide together what a just peace means for the world and how it can be achieved in a truly lasting way.

Zelensky was hoping US President Joe Biden would attend.

Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris joined leaders pledging unwavering support for Ukraine and shooting down a so-called peace proposal made by Putin on the eve of the summit.

He claimed Russia would end the war if Ukraine agreed to give up four eastern regions and drop its NATO ambitions.

And let nothing about the end of this war be decided without Ukraine.

By contrast, however, yesterday Putin put forward a proposal.

But we must speak truth.

He is not calling for negotiations.

He is calling for surrender.

While countries like Germany and Finland say the summit is a first step to lasting peace, it's not expected to result in a real breakthrough in the absence of Russia.

And we have our correspondent Rosie Burchard in Switzerland with the very latest for us.

Rosie, tell us what leaders have achieved at this summit so far.

Well, it's a misty morning here high in the Swiss mountains and leaders, of course, trying to get some clarity on the way forward, but we're still waiting to hear if they're going to come up with a declaration and exactly what is going to be in it.

But I think before we get there, we have to really reflect on some of the context here because Russia's invasion of Ukraine, its full scale invasion of Ukraine, has been a source of division globally, not only because it's had huge ripple effects.

We heard some African leaders, for example, here talking about the impact it's had on farmers in the African continent with price flaring, for example, but also because Russia, the invader, the aggressor seen here in Europe certainly has been on a mission to try and convince certainly other parts of the world that it is the victim here.

Now, Russia is not present at these talks.

However, 92 countries are.

So seeing the leaders, envoys and ministers, representatives of those 92 countries all standing together, I think will be seen as some degree of a win for Ukraine, of a symbol of diplomatic unity.

But it's not the slam dunk that Kyiv was hoping for.

And that is because there are some quite notable no-shows.

So, for example, some key diplomatic players from the so-called Global South.

So, for example, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Brazil, they all chose to either send just diplomatic envoys or ministers instead of their leaders.

And I think to some extent that will be seen as a snub.

Whether or not this summit can really move anything forward.

I will be seen as whether there can be a second, another summit which comes after this in which we might actually see Russia at the table.

Not today.

Indeed, we know Kamala Harris has already left the summit.

So has German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Can you tell us who is still there and what we might expect from them today?

Yeah, there's still a whole host of leaders here.

And of course, sometimes when leaders leave and they leave their diplomats or envoys to get on with the talks, that can be actually when the real nitty-gritty of the negotiations happens.

I understand that the countries here are working on a joint declaration.

So some sort of a text which will likely recall the fundamentals of the United Nations Charter.

So territorial integrity.

But it's probably going to be quite vague in the terms of language it uses because, of course, trying to unite this broad church of more than 90 countries around one goal, that's something which will likely be pretty difficult.

And of course, we'll have press conferences from the key leaders involved here, particularly Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

I think he will come out, strike an optimistic tone, as he already has, and try to frame this really as a success.

But of course, the success will see down the line whether or not this is, as President Zelensky says, a moment in history when the history of moving toward peace in Ukraine is finally written.

Of course, at the moment, the war still rages on.

Rosie Burchard from a very misty Switzerland for us.

Thank you so much, as always.