From left: Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
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Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis says he is “cautiously optimistic” ahead of a new round of talks on the war in Ukraine taking place in Geneva.
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Speaking to Swiss public television SRF, he said “Russia wants to take a step towards peace,” but added that the key question is at what price.
Cassis said he reached this conclusion after talks in Moscow at the start of FebruaryExternal link. In his role as chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss possible ways of bringing the war in Ukraine to an end.
+ How the war in Ukraine has changed Switzerland
Speaking to SRF on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Cassis said key issues – including territorial questions and security guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine – remained unresolved. The interview was broadcast on Saturday morning.
Cassis said his meeting in Moscow was crucial groundwork for the round of negotiations due to take place in Geneva next Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the foreign minister, Russia had been waiting for the OSCE to show the courage needed to restart dialogue.
+ What can the Swiss foreign minister – and the OSCE – achieve in Moscow?
Switzerland is hosting the Geneva talks but is not taking an active role in them. External link“The United States is leading the process,” the foreign minister said. He added that both Ukraine and Russia would be trying to move a little closer together.
Zelensky rejects withdrawal from Donbas
Only last Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again firmly rejected Russia’s demand that Kyiv give up the Donbas. He said Ukraine could not abandon the roughly 200,000 Ukrainians still living in the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk that remain under government control. The administration of US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Kyiv to relinquish the territory as a way of bringing the war to an end.
+ Why Switzerland is cautious about using Russian funds to finance Ukraine
Ukraine and Russia last held direct talks in the United Arab Emirates at the start of February. As in the first round in January, the US acted as mediator. No concrete outcomes were announced, but participants later described the discussions as constructive.
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