“We are always there for you”: that is what Cassis said to his Russian counterpart Lavrov in New York

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On the sidelines of an open debate in the UN Security Council, a meeting took place in New York on Tuesday between Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (62) and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov (73). Cassis confirmed the meeting on X. Photos show the two men shaking hands.

Cassis did not make any specific statements at the time about the content of the conversation with Lavrov. He spoke to Lavrov about “several important issues.” Now Lavrov revealed what exactly he had discussed with Cassis.

Switzerland is trying to organize a peace summit between Moscow and Kiev. Federal President Viola Amherd (61) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky (45) announced this in Bern last week. The Federal Council aims to determine the course towards peace in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This was also Cassis’ mission in the conversation with the Russian chief diplomat.

Cassis: “We are still there for you and always there for you”

“The Swiss Foreign Ministry has offered to mediate with Russia,” reads the title of a report by the Russian news agency Ria Nowosti on the meeting between Lavrov and Cassis. “I met with the Foreign Minister of Switzerland and he convinced me that they can act as a mediator in any case, as they did before,” Lavrov said at a news conference on Wednesday.

He explained to Cassis that the mediator must be neutral, the Russian Foreign Minister continued. “Switzerland used to be known not only for its military neutrality, but also for its neutrality in a broader sense, which allowed the country to successfully accept various negotiation processes.”

The Swiss Foreign Minister “informed him that Switzerland was still willing to act as a mediator. “He told me, ‘We are still ready and always there for you.’” There is no confirmation from Switzerland whether Lavrov is quoting Cassis correctly.

Lavrov whistles back to Cassis

However, Lavrov said he also “drew his counterpart’s attention to the fact that Switzerland has a national security strategy agreed for the period 2024 to 2027 or 2028. “It says that Switzerland is ready and interested in building European security – not with Russia, but against Russia,” Lavrov said.

In October, Moscow reacted “indignantly” to an “anti-Russian draft of the Swiss foreign policy strategy.” The draft of the so-called foreign policy strategy of Switzerland for the years 2024 to 2027 was presented at the end of September and is expected to be completed in early 2024, after consultations in the cantons and foreign policy committees of the federal chambers.

The Ria Novosti report accuses Switzerland of not being a member of the EU or NATO, but “joining almost all European sanctions against the Russian Federation” since February 24, 2022.

Crucial point of the blocked Russian billions in Switzerland

According to Russian information, Switzerland has frozen private Russian assets worth 7.6 billion francs. A year ago, Credit Suisse (CS) reported that it had blocked or frozen more than a third of Russian assets registered in Switzerland. 17.6 billion blocked or frozen assets correspond to more than a third of all reported Russian assets in Switzerland.

In May, the federal government also confirmed that Bern had classified 7.4 billion francs of Russian central bank reserves and assets as “immobile assets.” The report further suggests that Switzerland “is willing to participate in international discussions on the seizure of the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank.”

It is unlikely that the Russian billions blocked in Switzerland will benefit Bern’s role as a middleman. High-ranking Russian representatives also repeatedly stated that Switzerland had lost its neutral status. Gennady Gatilov, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva, pointed out that Switzerland’s attitude towards Ukraine had a negative impact on Bern’s international role. Switzerland gave up its status as a neutral country to the side of Kiev and its NATO sponsors.

Source:Blick