Switzerland aims to hold Ukraine peace conference ‘by the summer’

Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis addresses the United Nations General Assembly ahead of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. KEYSTONE/Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis emphasised the need for a just peace in Ukraine in speeches to the OSCE Council and the UN General Assembly on Friday. A high-level peace conference organised by Switzerland "by the summer" marks the first step on this path.

The aim is for as many nations as possible to share a common understanding of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. Foreign minister Cassis said on Friday via video before the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Later in the day, Cassis also addressed the UN General Assembly in New York where he called on all members to work for peace and not to “give in to pessimism”.

The just peace he referred to included the recovery of the population, respect for the rule of law and human rights, accountability, justice for the victims and the recognition of international law.

Switzerland once again calls on Russia to withdraw its troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine and to respect the territorial integrity of the country, said the head of the foreign ministry. The second anniversary of the start of the Russian military attack on Ukraine on Saturday also marked two years of death, destruction and unimaginable suffering for the Ukrainian people.

The war must stop as it poses a threat to nuclear safety and has a damaging impact on global food security and the environment, said Cassis.

Ukraine peace conference by the summer

However, Cassis dampened Ukrainian hopes of a global peace summit in Switzerland. He still spoke of a high-level conference by the summer but this is a far cry from the statements from Kyiv.

A realistic path to peace in Ukraine is needed, the Cassis told the UN General Assembly two years after the outbreak of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. He had previously told the Permanent Council of the OSCE via video that a possible meeting in Switzerland would be “just one step”.

In front of the UN General Assembly, his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba insisted on a summit meeting. This would enable a “fair and comprehensive approach” to peace, a goal that Bern was also pursuing, he said. And “Russia will have no choice afterwards” but to discuss, he added.

Translated by DeepL/amva/jdp

How we work

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to [e-mail].