Swiss president meets Zelensky in Davos amid tensions with Europe

Keystone Pool / Laurent Gillieron

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter met with her Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelensky, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Despite his earlier criticism of Europe, Zelensky expressed gratitude to Switzerland for its support.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

Zelensky did not hold back in his criticism of Europe in Davos on Tuesday, just a day after Donald Trump’s inauguration. He issued a warning to Europe before meeting with Keller-Sutter, during which they maintained good relations. Earlier, the European Union (EU) had asserted its stance against the American administration.

+Summit struggle: Ukraine conference ends with unresolved declaration

Nothing concrete emerged regarding the organisation of a new summit in Switzerland, following the one in Bürgenstock last JuneExternal link. “It’s too early. We need to see what the new American administration under Trump does first,” said the Swiss President.

Zelensky: ‘The world will move on without Europe’

Earlier in the afternoon, the Ukrainian president delivered a scathing speech about Europe, warning that it risks being completely sidelined now that the Trump administration is in power.

Europe must learn to manage itself independently, said Zelensky. It needs to be “at the forefront,” or “the world will move on without it,” he added.

+ Listen to our Inside Geneva podcast: what makes a good peace deal?

“Will Trump listen to the EU or negotiate with Russia and China without Europe?” Zelensky remarked. Meanwhile, Trump promised in November to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours.” The Republican made no mention of Ukraine during his inaugural speech on Monday.

Von der Leyen displays a strong EU

For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, keen to dispel doubts, presented a strong Europe “open for business” and that “respects the rules of the game” at the opening of the WEF.

“The era when Europe relied on cheap energy from Russia and outsourced its own security is over,” she declared, while reaching out to China.

Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xiuxiang, also present at the forum’s opening, reiterated his opposition to any trade war, as Trump threatens to impose heavy taxes on China.

Translated from French with DeepL/sp

How we work

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to [e-mail].