Russia and China’s plan for peace in Ukraine is praised by Switzerland

Saturday, Switzerland’s foreign office said it supported a peace plan led by China to end the war in Ukraine, saying that its view on such efforts had changed a lot.

Since Russia’s attack of Ukraine is now in its third year, the two sides are still very far apart on how to make peace. Russian President Vladimir Putin says that talks can’t start until Kyiv gives up large parts of its land and stops trying to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is working on a “victory plan.”

Switzerland, which helped bring about peace in Ukraine in June, was a conflict mediator at a meeting of 17 countries on Friday outside of the U.N. General Assembly. The meeting was led by Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, and Celso Amorim, Brazil’s foreign policy assistant.

Nicolas Bideau, a spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, told Reuters, “We took part in this meeting as an observer, and we support this dynamic.”

According to Bideau, Switzerland’s view on the plan that was first made public in May has changed since a reference was added to the U.N. Charter. The U.N. Charter is the founding treaty of the global body that promises all member states to support peace.

“For us, this translates into a significant change in our view of these initiatives,” he said. “…A concrete diplomatic effort organized by the Sino-Brazilian group could be of interest to us.”

Russia wasn’t invited to Switzerland’s peace summit in Buergenstock, which some foreign policy experts saw as an attempt by the West to isolate Moscow. It was also said that Switzerland was breaking its centuries-old practice of neutrality.

According to diplomats, Bern has been trying to find a country in the “global South” to host a second meeting ever since.