After the Ukraine peace conference in Davos: Switzerland gambled away its power as a mediator

A total of 83 countries support Zelensky’s peace plan. “There is no alternative to this plan,” said federal councilor Ignazio Cassis (62) on Sunday in Davos. “We can’t just sit around and dream that the world will be a better place.”

Negotiations here? Switzerland should have Putin arrested

However, Switzerland is still not supplying weapons or military supplies that Ukraine urgently needs in the standoff after almost two years of war. To achieve this, a lot of mediation work is being done in the background between the warring parties, Cassis said in Davos on Sunday. “This often happens at a level that the public cannot or should not notice. But I assure you: there is more demand for our good services than ever before.”

In view of the glaring military threat from the East, advertise yourself as a mediator and withhold arms supplies to Ukraine, which is begging for ammunition: you can do it. Switzerland should at least offer itself as a location for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. And that is exactly what she is making impossible with her clear support for Zelensky’s peace plan.

The plan makes it crystal clear that negotiations are only possible once all ten points of the peace plan have been met. This includes the creation of a special international court before which those responsible for Russia’s war of aggression (primarily Vladimir Putin) should be brought before them. If Putin were to come to Switzerland to negotiate, the local judiciary would have to have him arrested immediately.

Last mines in Ukraine cleared for 700 years

Switzerland is in a diplomatic dilemma. You venture into the game of good offices and at the same time raise new funds for mine clearance in Ukraine. This is good for the humanitarian image of our small state, but militarily it is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. According to Ukrainian experts speaking on the sidelines of the peace conference, it will take about 700 years for Ukraine to be completely free of mines.

Until then, there will still be a lot of snow in Davos. And until then, many Ukrainians will die in the bitter battle against the Russian invaders. You won’t win a war with demining equipment and a common language of peace that you want to find in Davos. This would now require a radical rethink and steely military concessions. Switzerland will not supply them. President Zelensky’s eventual desperate visit to Davos is unlikely to change that.