French President Emmanuel Macron says he is “pushing for Geneva” for the next Ukraine war peace talks, an idea that Switzerland has enthusiastically welcomed, but Russia has appeared less keen.
President Macron emerged from Monday’s White House European leaders’ conference saying the meeting had agreed the next stage of Ukraine war peace talks — which are expected to be an in-person discussion between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, with U.S. President Donald Trump mediating — should take place in Europe. Stating they should take place in a neutral country, the French President nominated Switzerland.
French broadsheet Le Monde on Tuesday reported comments from Macron: “It will be [hosted by] a neutral country, maybe Switzerland – I’m pushing for Geneva – or another country… The last time there were bilateral talks, they were held in Istanbul”.
Russia’s Putin appears to have other ideas and has repeatedly said he wants the next talks to take place in Moscow. He said it in person to President Trump at their Friday summit, and reportedly once again to Trump on Monday when he telephoned the Kremlin during his European leaders’ meeting. According to unnamed sources cited by the AFP, President Zelensky immediately turned down the notion.
Swiss sources also acknowledged that their historically studious neutrality has been damaged regarding resolving this conflict since the Alpine state joined Europe’s sanctions against Russia.
Nevertheless, the country’s leadership remain keen to be considered for the role. Swiss German-language newspaper Blick reports that both France and Italy support Geneva as a venue, and has reproduced the comments of Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who noted that international summits are a national speciality and they are immediately available to host. He said: “Switzerland is very willing to do this, even at short notice… Incidentally, I have repeatedly emphasized this willingness in recent months in my contacts with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.”
Cassis also said Switzerland would grant immunity from international arrest warrants for all Russians coming to the country to attend a peace summit.
Cassis was one of those who noted relations with Russia had cooled over the sanctions, however. Another is veteran Swiss diplomat Thomas Greminger, a former Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), an arms-control body which counts Russia among its members. Greminger, who chaired Russia-Ukraine peace talks in 2014 after the Crimea annexation, is reported by the same publication to have said: “Switzerland would be the perfect host.”
“The Bürgenstock [2024 International High-Level Conference on Peace in Ukraine] was a logistical masterpiece, and the Europeans trust Switzerland to play this role well. The French naturally prefer Switzerland to, for example, Turkey or Saudi Arabia.”
On whether Switzerland will inevitably be chosen, Greminger put it at about 50 per cent probability and noted: “Ukraine probably has no objection. Russian diplomacy keeps saying that Switzerland is no longer neutral, but ultimately, the Russians are still relatively well-disposed toward Switzerland.”
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