“It should certainly take place in 2024,” Amherd told the newspaper Schweiz am Wochenende in an interview published on Saturday.
Without the participation of Russia, the summit is unlikely to be a genuine peace meeting: “Russia will probably not be present, but we are looking for discussion with all the others,” she added.
At the same time, the president hinted that Switzerland is also in contact with Russia. “Switzerland talks to everyone,” she explained. “I’ve been told several times over the past few days how important this is and how happy everyone is that someone can talk to everyone. The channels of communication exist and they are open”.
For the moment, it is not known whether the summit at ministerial or head of state level will actually take place. “There is of course a small risk that we will not succeed in organising the summit,” Amherd conceded. But if Switzerland does not try, it certainly won’t happen. “You also have to have the courage to say sometimes, we’re going to try and do our best.”
Moderate expectations
However, Amherd is tempering expectations. “We cannot expect a ready-made peace plan at the end of our summit,” said the president, who is also defence minister. “But if we can launch a peace process, we will already have achieved a great deal.”
According to her, it would be a success if a wide range of countries took part, including those from the South – notably South Africa, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia – and if possible China. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will travel to China at the beginning of February, as has long been planned.
Almost two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the future of the country was the focus of a meeting last Sunday in Davos between the government in Kyiv and representatives of over 80 countries and organisations. The security advisors from the various countries discussed a ten-point peace plan proposed by Ukraine.
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. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
How is your country dealing with the return of stolen artifacts?
Western nations like Switzerland often have to deal with the process of recovering or returning looted artifacts which have been illegally imported. What’s the situation like in your country?
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
Sylvain Saudan, ‘skier of the impossible’, dies aged 87
This content was published on
The Swiss father of extreme skiing pioneered descents from the Alps to the Himalayas – and became the sport’s first star.
Hayek family buys additional Swatch shares for nearly CHF11 million
This content was published on
Following the acquisition of registered shares worth over CHF20.6 million on Monday, the Hayek family made another purchase on Tuesday.
Suicide capsule to be used in Switzerland this year, says euthanasia organisation
This content was published on
The organisation “The Last Resort” has confirmed that the suicide capsule Sarco is to be used in Switzerland. This should happen this year, it said.
Ukrainian children flown to Switzerland for cancer treatment
This content was published on
The Swiss air rescue service Rega flew two Ukrainian children with cancer to Switzerland from a hospital in Kyiv hit by Russian missiles.
Swiss Solidarity raises over CHF10 million for victims of extreme weather
This content was published on
The money raised will be used to help those affected by the recent storms and flooding in the cantons of Ticino, Graubünden, and Valais.
Swiss giant Roche given green light for lung cancer drug in Canada
This content was published on
According to a recent study, Roche’s Alecensaro reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 76% compared to chemotherapy alone.
Swiss luxury watch market hit hard by China-led slump
This content was published on
Sales of Swiss-made luxury watches are in sharp retreat as nervous consumers reconsider splashing out on expensive timepieces and demand slumps.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.