Tagliavini who was also a senior negotiator for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said that during her 20-year career as Swiss diplomat she had negotiated several times with people who “had blood on their hands”.
In some cases, it was possible to appeal to their conscience even if they at first seemed to have no morals, she said in an interview published in the newspapers of the Tamedia group on Wednesday.
It allowed to have a “foot in the door”, she added. She referred to her experience in conflicts in Chechnya, Georgia and Ukraine.
Asked if the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is a likeable person, she said all people must be measured by their actions and that he appeared “very controlled” when she met him on several occasions during her diplomatic career between 1982 to 2015.
Tagliavini also explained that is a diplomatic custom to greet negotiating partners with a smile, but she added that public photographs of such meetings are often misread by the public.
Over the past few months, press photographs from meetings between top Russian diplomats and the Swiss foreign minister and the head of the Swiss-led International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) respectively prompted public criticism.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
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.
Read more
More
Switzerland is ‘European but independent’ says top diplomat
This content was published on
Has Switzerland given up its neutrality? We asked Pascale Baeriswyl, head of the Swiss mission to the United Nations in New York.
Swiss negotiator hopeful after tough Ukraine talks
This content was published on
She described the agreement as a “complete package of measures” to put the terms of last September’s Minsk Protocol agreement into practice. That agreement included a 12-point plan involving a cease-fire, a neutral monitoring zone, early elections and a reconstruction programme, among other steps. Tagliavini, who was appointed to represent to Organisation for Security and…
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.