Swiss soldiers ‘could join peacekeeping force’: security expert
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening:
Swiss soldiers ‘could join peacekeeping force’: security expert
A German security expert could imagine Swiss soldiers being part of a peacekeeping force in Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire.
+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox
If a peacekeeping force were to be deployed in Ukraine, it would be neither a NATO mission nor an EU mission, Claudia Major, who is a managing member of the US-based German Marshall Fund, told Tamedia Group Newspapers.
According to the expert, formerly head of the security policy research group at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), a ‘coalition of the willing’ is in talks to create a peacekeeping force. Membership of this coalition is open to all.
It is in Switzerland’s interest to ensure a ceasefire and thus stability in Europe. If the eventual deployment of this peacekeeping force is not robust enough, Russia could wait and attack Ukraine again at a later date. So far, the Kremlin has not changed its objectives and is improving its readiness for deployment.
+ Swiss-hosted peace conference failed to meet fairytale expectations
Major considers the peace conference organised by Switzerland last year on the Bürgenstock a ‘good attempt’. However, Russia has shown no interest in ending the war.
Süssli spoke of 200 soldiers
In an interview in mid-February, Swiss army chief Thomas Süssli said that Berne could provide 200 soldiers for a peace mission in the Ukrainian-Russian border area within nine to 12 months. This would take place in the event of a ceasefire between the two warring parties.
These statements provoked negative reactions. For example, it was criticised that Süssli had overstepped his role and that Switzerland’s participation in a peacekeeping force was a political and not a military decision.
More
Donald Trump shock pushes neutral Swiss to seek closer defence ties
Translated from French by DeepL/mga
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, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.