Foreign policy in times of war means breaking new ground. The point now is not to give the aggressor a platform. This would be a misunderstanding of good offices. What is needed now are rules for cooperation among like-minded people.
The soldiers’ memorial on the Simplon Pass: neutrality never meant not having compassion, but rather protected Switzerland from getting caught between the fronts.
At the top of the Simplon Pass, the stone eagle looks grimly to the south. The soldiers of Grenzbrigade 11 erected a sculpture for their military unit from excavated material from fortresses. Its task was to stop or at least delay an attack by the Axis powers. A British officer described the sculpture as an anti-fascist monument.
The eagle stands for Switzerland’s armed neutrality, but also for solidarity with like-minded people. The soldiers and officers of the Grenzbrigade 11 supported as citizens the resistance of the population of the neighboring Val d’Ossola against the tyranny. A courageous and, above all, discreet solidarity among mountain people who stood up for their freedom together.
Unlike in the Second World War, Switzerland is not directly threatened by the aggressor today. This gives the Federal Council more freedom of action in foreign policy. He is making full use of this by holding the Lugano Conference, which is scheduled to take place at the beginning of July. The goal is a declaration, a “Declaration of Lugano”, with the most important principles for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The quality of the results is paramount
Switzerland can, indeed must, do pioneering work here. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the instruments of cooperative security have been virtually deadlocked, including the UN and its affiliates. This blockade also affects Switzerland and its dialogue formats. Moscow is more than upset that Switzerland has adopted the EU sanctions.
Instead of in international Geneva, the Kremlin prefers to negotiate under the patronage of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is no longer about different perceptions of the security order after the Cold War, but about the mechanisms of power politics. This is not a basis for a just peace in Ukraine.
Continuing to offer Moscow a channel for spreading cynical lies and half-truths would be a misunderstanding of Switzerland’s good offices. The task now is to bring everyone around the table who is still committed to a rules-based order. It doesn’t matter how many prominent politicians march in Lugano. The decisive factor is the quality of the results achieved by the participating states and international organizations.
Switzerland should also use the Lugano Conference as a platform for its own position. It is legitimate for a state to pursue its own interests. The modern state has so far come through history unscathed. The people, the economy and the political system were spared the horrors of the 20th century – an era that the writer Ulrich Becher described as the “criminal epoch”.
Neutrality never meant not having compassion
Unfortunately, this seems to be continuing. Now imperial size is in the foreground again. An economically successful, globally networked small state must protect itself against the law of the strongest. It is the art of Swiss diplomacy to counterbalance the sheer deterrence of the West against Russia. The focus is on rules among like-minded people, not unconditional support for Ukraine.
These include fundamental principles of the rule of law and democracy. This is the crucial difference between the free world and authoritarian, aggressive states. The Lugano Conference is thus a first attempt at cooperative neutrality, which Federal President Ignazio Cassis proclaimed at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
In times of war, Switzerland must break new ground, but not rashly give up its tried and tested foreign policy tools. This would contradict her innermost being. But she has always used her leeway. Being neutral never meant not having compassion. It is intended to protect Switzerland from getting caught between the fronts. The Lugano conference thus corresponds exactly to the Swiss point of view.