Switzerland, Austria offer to host Putin-Zelenskyy peace talks

Switzerland and Austria said Tuesday that they would host Russian President Vladimir Putin if he came for talks on peace in Ukraine, despite the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant.

French President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of a peace summit between Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky being held in Europe, in “a neutral country, maybe Switzerland”.

“I’m pushing for Geneva,” he said in an interview aired earlier Tuesday on French news channel LCI.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told a press conference that, under certain circumstances, Putin would be allowed to set foot in Switzerland.

Last year, the Swiss government defined “the rules for granting immunity to a person under an international arrest warrant. If this person comes for a peace conference – not if they come for private reasons”, Cassis said.

Cassis said Switzerland was fully prepared to host such a meeting and highlighted the militarily-neutral country’s long expertise in the field.

However, he pointed out that Russia had gone cold on Switzerland, which has decided to match the sanctions imposed by the neighbouring European Union since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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‘Long tradition’

In neighbouring Austria, the chancellery said should peace talks take place on its soil, it would get in touch with the ICC “to make it possible for President Putin to attend”.

Chancellor Christian Stocker said he had already offered Vienna as a possible venue for negotiations to Zelensky during the Ukrainian president’s visit in June.

“Our capital has a long tradition as a place of dialogue,” he said in a statement, evoking Vienna hosting several international organisations.

Austria – a member of the EU but not NATO – sought close ties with Russia in the past, but relations deteriorated after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Switzerland permitted Russia’s participation at a gathering of parliamentary speakers last month, with Valentina Matviyenko, president of the upper house of Russia’s Federal Assembly, attending despite international sanctions.

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Switzerland said it acted in accordance with law and international agreements.

Swiss authorities may authorise exemptions from travel restrictions, “notably if the person is travelling to participate in an international conference,” a Swiss foreign ministry spokesman told AFP at the time.

Putin is wanted by the ICC for the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

Putin last visited Geneva for his June 2021 summit with then president Joe Biden.

The most recent bilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul. Turkey is considered more friendly by Moscow, despite its membership of NATO.

Turkey is not an ICC member.