Swiss President offers to mediate between Russia and Ukraine

Europe, News March 21, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict entered into its 25th day, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis decided to play a role in resolving the conflict between the warring states by offering Switzerland as a venue to carry out talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

During his address to an anti-war protest in Bern, Swiss President Cassis stated, “It’s [Switzerland) a small country with a strong commitment to freedom. It is ready to play the role as a mediator behind the scenes or host negotiations.”

Switzerland has always proclaimed itself to be a neutral country. It is a non-EU and non-NATO member state, however, Switzerland has several security pacts with both organizations. During the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Switzerland has shown a clear inclination towards Ukraine due to popular support. Thousands of civilian protesters have been taking the streets in all the major cities to protest against the Russian attack on Ukraine.

On March 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to a crowd of protesters in Bern through a video link. During his speech, Zelenskyy urged Switzerland to take strict actions against the Russian businessmen and oligarchs who are living in Switzerland to pressure the Kremlin to stop its “invasion of Ukraine”.

During his speech, Zelenskyy reminded the crowd the Swiss banks are filled with the money which is being used to destroy his country. He stated, “Your banks are where the money of the people who unleashed this war lies. That is painful. That is also a fight against evil, that their accounts are frozen. That would also be a fight, and you can do this.”

“Ukrainians feel what it is when cities are destroyed. They are being destroyed on the orders of people who live in European, in beautiful Swiss towns, who enjoy the property in your cities. It would really be good to strip them of this privilege,” Zelenskyy added.

*^{Swiss President Ignazio Cassis (R) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) in Geneva, on January 21, 2022. (Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Twitter)}*

Despite being a neutral country, Switzerland has adopted several EU sanctions against Russia. However, no official figures have been released by Switzerland to show the real amount of Russian assets that have been held at the Swiss banks. According to some independent sources, around $213 billion of Russian assets are present in Switzerland’s secretive bank accounts.

The Swiss President Ignazio Cassis was also present during Zelensky’s speech and lauded the Ukrainian President by stating, “We are impressed by the courage with which your people are fighting for freedom and peace. We are impressed by the way you defend the fundamental values of the free world, which are also our fundamental values.” Later during his address, he offered to mediate between the two warring states to find a quick and meaningful solution for the ongoing conflict.

So far, Turkey and Belarus have served as the mediation venues for negotiators from Russia and Ukraine without any substantial success. Despite being a member of the NATO alliance and an applicant for EU membership, Turkey has managed to come forwards as a ‘neutral’ spectator on the ongoing matter due to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s close ties with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Belarus on the other hand has brotherly ties with Russia which causes many Ukrainian representatives to draw reservations about choosing Belarus as a venue of negotiations talks. With Switzerland now offering to mediate between the two countries, the next talks for negotiations can be expected to take place in the heart of Western Europe.