Switzerland: Neutral countries are 'unfortunately' needed - Pres. Cassis on US-Russia talks

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Swiss President Ignazio Cassis discussed the context of the meeting hosted in Geneva between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, shortly after the talks on Friday.

“Today’s discussions are taking place in an extremely difficult period. While we are still in the middle of the pandemic, it would be disastrous for Europe but also for the world to let a new crisis take over,” he said, describing the meeting as ‘friendly’ and ‘focused’.

“I think, unfortunately, neutral countries which aren’t part of alliances and can build bridges between powers that are having tensions are more than ever necessary. We are in a world where geopolitical tensions have increased over the last few years and our engagement as well, and it is not a market we’re after,” Cassis added.

The US and Russian top diplomats met amid increasing tensions amid reports of a military build-up by Russia near the border with Ukraine and speculation by the United States that Moscow could launch an invasion in the coming weeks.

The Kremlin has denied any intension to invade, and has asked NATO for a ban on Ukraine entering the alliance and a decrease of military activity in nearby countries.

SOUNDBITES:

SOT, Ignazio Cassis, Swiss President (French): “Today’s discussions are taking place in an extremely difficult period. While we are still in the middle of the pandemic, it would be disastrous for Europe but also for the world to let a new crisis take over. I am happy to have been able to discuss these issues with Mr Antony Blinken of the United States and Mr Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia.”

SOT, Ignazio Cassis, Swiss President (French): “Switzerland is always ready to host dialogues between these powers to favour solutions that want peace and stability in the world.”

SOT, Ignazio Cassis, Swiss President (French): “To define the atmosphere of these meetings, I used [the words] ‘friendly’ and ‘focused’. And they are the right adjectives on both sides, on the Swiss side, or the Russian side or the United States. We know each other, it wasn’t the first meeting we had, so there was a certain confidentiality, and we were sufficiently relaxed but very focused on the gravity of the situation and I had a positive feeling regarding the fact that they were able to speak.”

SOT, Ignazio Cassis, Swiss President (French): “I think, unfortunately, neutral countries which aren’t part of alliances and can build bridges between powers that are having tensions are more than ever necessary. We are in a world where geopolitical tensions have increased over the last few years and our engagement as well, and it is not a market we’re after. So we’d be happier if there weren’t a need for our engagement, but that need is a reality and we are ready to play our role in this world.”

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