The idea of an international summit in Geneva seduces Emmanuel Macron, but nothing is signed. The United States specialist Daniel Warner recalls that Switzerland does not appear as an obvious choice in the eyes of all parties.
A few hours after Emmanuel Macron pleaded for Geneva to welcome the summit between Zelensky and Putin, Danier Warner tempers. A first uncertainty would come from Donald Trump. According to him, the president would prefer a summit on American soil, especially in Washington. “It’s obvious. Trump is still trying to have the Nobel Peace Prize, explains the United States specialist. In Europe, that would mean that Europeans would be very important in the negotiations. I’m not sure Trump will accept that. ”
Another discord is tense relations between the United States and Switzerland, between exorbitant customs duties and management of the F-35 file. If Switzerland has made a gesture to the Russians by offering immunity to Putin, Daniel Warner also wonders about the attitude of the latter. European sanctions, with which Switzerland has teamed up, could cool Moscow.
There remains the image challenge. For him, such a summit would be “the opportunity to put Geneva back on the map internationally as a capital of peace”. But he warns: expectations must remain measured, because “concretely, there is no guarantee for Ukraine, and the cease-fire promised by Trump is still not there”.
Read also: Nathalie Fontanet: “It is in the DNA of Geneva to participate in the organization of peace discussions”
