- Federal President Ignazio Cassis arrived in Ukraine on Thursday.
- The foreign minister wants to get an idea of the situation there and discuss the country’s reconstruction, as he writes on Twitter.
- Meetings are planned with senior government officials in Ukraine, reports Blick, citing two independent sources.
According to the media report, Cassis traveled by train from Poland to Ukraine in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. It is unclear whether the foreign minister will also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. An official statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) is not available.
Cassis writes on Twitter: “The goal is to give me a picture of the war situation, the humanitarian situation and the preparatory work for reconstruction on site of the country.” It is the Foreign Minister’s first visit to Kyiv since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022.
Franz Grüter, President of the Foreign Policy Committee of the National Council, welcomes the trip from Cassis to Kyiv. “It’s good if Switzerland talks to all parties in this war,” he said when asked by SRF News. However, it was not the right time to focus on reconstruction during the visit. “Peace is a more important issue at the moment,” says Grüter. That’s why he thinks it would be desirable if Switzerland took on the role of mediator between Ukraine and Russia.
Last visit a year ago
Cassis was last in Kyiv at the end of October 2021 and also met Selenski at the time. The focus of the three-day state visit was the preparation of the reconstruction conference for Ukraine. He launched this together with the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Schmihal.
The Ukraine conference in Lugano took place on July 4-5 this year. The aim of the meeting of high-ranking representatives of 38 states and 14 international organizations was to discuss the post-war reconstruction of the country. Selenski did not appear in person, but took part via video link.
German President postpones trip
In contrast to Cassis, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has canceled a trip to Kyiv planned for Thursday for security reasons. The German Presidential Office confirmed a corresponding report in the newspaper “Bild”. Accordingly, German authorities have advised against the trip. The visit should be rescheduled as soon as possible.