Foreign minister wants OSCE to be ready for peace in Ukraine
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Foreign minister wants OSCE to be ready for peace in Ukraine
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis wants to use Switzerland's OSCE Chairmanship in 2026 to prepare for a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.
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“My goal is that we as the OSCE are ready,” Cassis said in an interview with the SonntagsBlick.
A deal sought by US President Donald Trump between Russia and Ukraine could happen “all of a sudden – like the Gaza deal”. He said the Swiss OSCE chairmanship has three priorities: consolidating the organisation as a security policy exchange platform for confidence-building measures; finding a solution to the blocked budget issue; and preparing for a possible deployment after a ceasefire.
The OSCE could deploy observers at short notice, monitor a ceasefire line and supervise elections, Cassis added. “But the front line currently consists of 1,300 kilometres – the OSCE alone is too small to monitor the entire length; this would require a great deal of commitment on the part of the participating states.”
Cassis said the US, as the largest contributor, criticised the organisation for having “lost its compass” like other multilateral institutions and was pushing for budget cuts.
+ As Switzerland prepares to chair the OSCE, is this body still relevant?
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) brings together 57 states from Europe to North America. All decisions must be made by consensus and each member has a right of veto. Finland holds the chairmanship of the organisation until the end of the year. From January 1, Switzerland will take over this position for one year. The OSCE is currently deadlocked when it comes to adopting a budget and determining the chairmanship for 2027.
Adapted from German by AI/ts
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