Swiss mediator: Russia has 'no interest in peace brokers'
Date
4/19/2022 5:06:16 AM
(MENAFN- Swissinfo)
Deutsch
(de)
'Vermittlung ist nicht erwünscht' (original)
Italiano
(it)
'Siamo di fronte a una guerra fredda 2.0' Français
(fr)
«Nous sommes confrontés à une nouvelle guerre froide» Pусский
(ru)
«Посредничество не нужно никому, особенно России» The full-scale invasion came as a surprise even to him. As a long-time mediator between Russia and Ukraine, Greminger knows high-ranking officials on both sides. He was convinced that rational cost-benefit analysis would prevail and make all-out war unlikely.
From 2010 he was Swiss ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which includes Russia and the United States and other former Cold War enemies. When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Switzerland held the chair of the organisation, and Greminger was able to play an important mediation role. One breakthrough was the agreement on a permanent observer mission to Ukraine, whose mandate has, however, recently expired. From 2017 to 2020 he was the OSCE's secretary general. Today he is director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).
SWI swissinfo.ch: The pictures of murdered civilians in Bucha have shocked the world. Is this a turning point in the war?
Thomas Greminger: Yes, these are presumed war crimes that must of course be investigated and which will clearly have huge repercussions, not least on the post-war world. These pictures will not be forgotten so soon.
SWI: There is not much news these days about the peace negotiations. Is an agreement between the parties even conceivable?
T.G.: As things stand, the two sides are clearly still far from an agreement. There is one area, though, where they appear to have edged closer, that is regarding the future status of Ukraine. It seems they might be able to agree on a form of neutrality backed by international guarantees. However, as far as territorial concessions are concerned, they are, to my knowledge, still worlds apart. Russia presumably has far-reaching demands that include at least Crimea and the Donbas.
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