Plans for a major peace conference: This is how the day of Zelensky’s visit to Bern went After right-wing extremist rallies: Tens of thousands of people marched against the right – including Scholz and Baerbock

On Saturday, Defense and Sports Minister Viola Amherd (center) enjoyed the brighter side of her office as she posed for photos with skier Marco Odermatt in the finish area of ​​the Lauberhorn piste in Wengen.

On Monday, more than two weeks after taking office as Federal President, the Valais was catapulted into her new office with the attendant seriousness. Amherd experienced a day in the federal city of Bern and later in the evening at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos that “20 Minutes” called “diplomatic Super Monday.”

The prominent visitors practically gave each other the handle. One after another, Amherd received a head of government, a head of state and the President of the European Commission.

A meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang was planned for the morning. The meeting took place at the Lohn estate of the Federal Council in the municipality of Kehrsatz near Bern, a beautiful patrician estate.

Later in the afternoon, the meeting also took place between the Ukrainian delegation led by President Zelensky and the Swiss delegation, including Federal President Amherd, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis (FDP) and Minister of Justice Beat Jans (SP).

While the association limited itself to a communiqué after the meeting between Amherd and Qiang, Amherd appeared before the media together with her second guest at the Lohn estate at the beginning of the evening. At 5:43 p.m., Amherd and Selenskyj opened the approximately 20-minute media conference with a short statement in German and Ukrainian.

Within moments of Amherd’s opening vote, it became clear: the “diplomatic Super Monday” yielded more than just handshakes and friendly phrases.

First, she described Zelensky’s visit “as an honor and an opportunity to reaffirm Switzerland’s solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.” Switzerland has pledged this long-term solidarity.

Then came the “big news” that Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who was present at the confidential talks at the Lohn estate, had meaningfully announced in a post on the short message service X. more than 25 minutes before the start of the media conference.

“Switzerland is prepared to organize a high-level peace summit,” Federal President Amherd announced, responding to a request from Zelensky. Teams from the EDA Foreign Affairs Department and the Ukrainian side plan to start preparatory work on the sidelines of the WEF as early as Tuesday.

The devil is in the details

The planned summit in Switzerland should be seen as a continuation of talks within the framework of President Zelenskiy’s 10-point “Ukrainian Peace Formula”. This includes demands for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops and guarantees of lasting peace

A meeting within the framework of the peace formula at the level of national security advisers took place in Davos on Sunday for the fourth and final time. Representatives from 83 countries participated. As before, Russia stayed away, as did China.

The peace conference announced by Amherd should now take place at the political level. Where and when exactly it will take place has not yet been decided. While the Swiss camp initially assumed a meeting at the level of foreign ministers, Zelensky’s chief of staff wrote to X shortly afterwards about a meeting at the level of heads of state.

The devil can be in the details. Zelenskyj first thanked Switzerland for the political support it had shown for Ukraine from day one. “I would like to thank Switzerland for not being indifferent to what is happening in Ukraine.” For Switzerland, neutrality does not mean ignoring reality.

It is therefore right that Switzerland supports humanitarian aid, demining, reconstruction or the prosecution of Russian war crimes. Zelensky thanked “the fact that Switzerland, together with Ukraine, is starting to prepare a global peace summit tomorrow.”

During the brief question-and-answer session following the statements, further disagreements over the planned peace conference emerged. Zelensky emphasized that all states that respect Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity were invited to participate. Amherd emphasized that they wanted a broad conference that had to be seriously prepared: “We want this peace process to be successful.”

Zelensky was also evasive in his answer to the question of what expectations Ukraine had regarding financial support from Switzerland. Federal President Amherd had previously emphasized the 1.5 billion francs already approved for the years 2025-2028.

But the Federal Council actually wants to put together a significantly larger aid package, which should not shy away from a comparison between countries throughout Europe. The state government has not yet been able to reach an agreement on where the money will come from and how much it will ultimately be. In times of looming shortages, this package is likely to receive a lot of attention in Parliament.

SVP stayed away from meetings with Zelensky

Selenskyj was initially received there earlier in the afternoon by National Council President Eric Nussbaumer (SP/BL) and Council of States President Eva Herzog (SP/BS). This was followed by a discussion with the faction and party leaders. The SVP was the only party that stayed away from the meeting for “planning reasons”. In June 2023, the SVP faction had already – with two exceptions – stayed away from a speech by Zelenskyj that was broadcast via video in the Chamber of the National Council.

From Zelensky’s point of view, the warm welcome by Parliament and the Federal Council was certainly a success. Federal President Viola Amherd could not receive the Chinese Prime Minister alone on the 15th day of her presidential year. Shortly before the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, she also reaped the benefits of Swiss diplomacy’s efforts to maintain good relations with Ukraine.

Shortly after the end of the media conference, Amherd flew from the nearby Bern-Belp airport towards Davos. A meeting with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was also on the agenda. And thus another important building site for foreign policy, on which the Federal President got to work on “diplomatic Super Monday”. (aargauerzeitung.ch)