Emmanuel Macron spoke of the possibility that a possible summit between Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, is held in Europe and “it will be a neutral country”. Switzerland and Austria have volunteered.
Switzerland and Austria said they were ready this Tuesday to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) targeting him, for a summit with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to rules defined last year, the Swiss federal government can grant «immunity to a person who is under an international arrest warrant »if it comes “For a peace conference, not for private reasons”said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ignazio Cassis.
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It was the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who spoke of the possibility that a possible summit between Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, stands in Europe and “It will be a neutral country, and therefore perhaps Switzerland”. He says he plead for Geneva, UN European seat.
Another proposal in Austria
In neighboring Austria, Chancellor Christian Store also proposed to welcome such a meeting, recalling “The long tradition” In this area, host of many international organizations (OPEC, AIEA, OSCE …). “If the negotiations take place in Vienna, we will contact the ICC” in order to “Clarify the question” and “Allow the president [Vladimir] Putin to participate »added the Chancellery in a statement transmitted to the media. The Russian President is referred to by an arrest warrant of the Court due to the transfer “illegal” from Ukrainian children to Russia.
These two options may not be to the taste of the Kremlin. Russia sulks Switzerland, which has decided to inflict the sanctions decided by the European Union in Moscow and imposed since the large -scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. “I have constantly recalled this availability [à organiser des rencontres] During my contacts with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov in recent months “underlined the head of Swiss diplomacy. But “I was told that since Switzerland adopted European sanctions, they have naturally lost a little desire” to come.
Tense relations
Ignazio Cassis also reported a recent precedent, during the assembly of the International Parliamentary Union which saw the President of the Russian Senate coming to Geneva, Valentina Matvienko. This close to Vladimir Putin is also the subject of sanctions for his support for war. The links have been the same significantly degraded in recent years between Moscow and Vienna.
Thanks to its deck position between the blocks acquired during the Cold War, Austria, a neutral country member of the EU but not NATO, previously maintained good relations with Russia. The latest bilateral Russian-Ukrainian discussions took place in Istanbul, Turkey which, despite its membership in the Atlantic Alliance, is deemed more friendly by Moscow.
