Geneva Ukraine Initiative: Business Leaders from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Europe and the United States work out common ground principles

Yann Zopf, Director, Public Engagement Tel.: +41 (0)79 204 1610, e-mail yzo@weforum.org

• A select group of top global business leaders from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Europe and the United States met in Geneva on September 14^th to discuss the conflict in Ukraine.
• The group aligned around a common approach, summarized in 10 proposals, to help resolve the conflict and advance the reconciliation process, focused on re-establishing collaborative relations between all parties involved.
• The group calls for a summit of top political leaders as soon as possible to bring an end to the Ukraine conflict

Geneva, Switzerland, 15 September 2014 – In the spirit of dialogue and in the search for common ground to find solutions for the conflict in Ukraine, a select group of top global business leaders, with equal representation from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Europe and the United States, gathered privately on the invitation of Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, on Sunday September 14^th in Geneva.

The outcome of the gathering is a common approach, summarized in ten proposals.

All participants recognize that the implementation of these proposals in the present context is challenging given the many complexities, but they feel that urgent attention has to be given to re-establish trust and collaborative relations, particularly at a time when so many other challenges are threatening global economic development and peace. They trust the political leaders involved and their ongoing dialogue, and hope that these proposals can support the political initiatives for resolving the Ukraine conflict. They pledge their full support for such a political process, and hope that the top political leaders from Europe and European countries involved, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States can soon meet on the occasion of a summit to be organized in Geneva to advance the reconciliation process and bring an end to the conflict.

Notes to Editors:

Read the World Economic Forum’s Scenarios for Ukraine report: http://wef.ch/ukr14report
Find out about the World Economic Forum’s work in Ukraine: http://www.weforum.org/scenarios-ukraine
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