Diplomat: Bürgenstock should lay the foundations for Russia’s involvement
Published: Saturday, Jun 8th 2024, 09:30
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The Ukraine peace conference on the Bürgenstock should ideally determine how Russia could be included in the process. This is the view of top Swiss diplomat Thomas Greminger, Director of the Center for Security Policy in Geneva. Even if Brics states only participate to a limited extent, the summit remains useful.
Russia has not been invited to the conference at the posh hotel resort on the mountain in the canton of Nidwalden. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to allow the Kremlin to attend. Switzerland, however, is trying to maintain contact with a view to the future.
It is important that the summit is not perceived as a conference of an alliance against Russia, says Ambassador Greminger in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. The former Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) added that the result must be a serious effort to find a lasting and peaceful solution that takes Ukrainian interests into account.
Suspicion of bias
If these two conditions are not met, Switzerland could be accused of having set a biased process in motion. Moscow rejected the conclusions of the conference from the outset. It considers Zelensky's ten-point peace plan to be unsuitable.
Putin's allies China and Brazil in the Brics alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) made their participation in the Bürgenstock summit dependent on Russia's participation. India, however, is taking part. In this context, Greminger advocates waiting until the last minute to see whether China will still participate in one way or another.
A limited participation of the Brics group, which has been expanded since the beginning of the year to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the Arab Emirates, could give the impression of a Western-dominated peace conference, says Greminger. Nevertheless, it remains useful.
Follow-up conference mandatory
The meeting would allow for the discussion of peace proposals in a format that could gradually gain broader support from the international community. Significant participation from the southern hemisphere is needed to avoid a split between the West and the rest of the world, says the head of the mainly federally funded Center for Security Policy.
To be considered a success, the meeting must decide on a next conference to give the process continuity, as Greminger explains. But it should not stop there. At least one or two of Selensky's ten points should produce results, for example on nuclear safety, freedom of navigation or food security.
According to the diplomat, territorial issues should come later. Security guarantees for all sides are a priority in order to build trust, which could ultimately lead to a dialog between Kiev and Moscow.
Lengthy process
Apart from Russia's participation, there have been disagreements in recent months between a Ukraine at war and a Switzerland that is becoming a player in the conflict with the Bürgenstock Conference. Kiev expressed the view that those who do not participate support the war. This stands in stark contrast to the statements made by Switzerland, which sees the conference as the beginning of a long process towards peace.
In Greminger's eyes, it is legitimate for Ukraine to use the conference as a platform for its own ideas. Switzerland has made it clear from the outset that it is organizing an inclusive conference that offers everyone the opportunity to present their peace plans.
If it does not perceive the conference as closing ranks against Russia, the Kremlin can accept it, even if it does not approve of it. In this case, Switzerland's approach as a mediator would not be called into question, explains Greminger.
©Keystone/SDA
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