Swiss, Ukrainian presidents hold talks in Geneva

Guy Parmelin and Volodymyr Zelensky hold talks in Geneva. Keystone-SDA

On Monday evening, Swiss President Guy Parmelin welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for a bilateral meeting at Geneva Airport. On the agenda were Switzerland’s good offices in the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow, the reconstruction of Ukraine, and the free trade agreement with that country.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

“I am delighted to see you again after Davos” in January, said the Swiss president as he welcomed Zelensky shortly after 10pm. He then asked him if he had had a good journey, to which Zelensky replied in the affirmative.

On the Swiss side, Gabriel Lüchinger, head of international security affairs at the foreign ministry, was present. “Gabriel, we know each other,” said Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president was accompanied by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and chief negotiator Roustem Oumarov.

Parmelin condemns anti-G7 protest violence

The Ukrainian delegation arrived in Geneva ahead of the G7 Summit, which is taking place in nearby Evian, across the border in France. Parmelin spent Monday welcoming G7 leaders in turn as they landed at Geneva Airport  – all except the host, French President Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in Evian on Sunday without stopping in Geneva.

“We need the right conditions, such as those offered by International Geneva, to ensure this welcome,” Parmelin told reporters.

The government, like the Geneva authorities, “condemns in the strongest possible terms” Sunday’s riots in Geneva, Parmelin added. Those responsible will face justice, he said. Part of Sunday’s anti-G7 protest was marked by violence that included broken windows, destroyed bus shelters and a car set on fire.

Following bilateral meetings with Brazil, the European Union and Ukraine on Monday, Parmelin will meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Evian on Tuesday. Brief discussions with other leaders, including US President Donald Trump, may take place.

Translated from French with AI/gw

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.  

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at [e-mail].