The crisis meeting on Friday in Geneva is the focus of world politics. DYes was not planned well in advance: only on Tuesday did US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov decide to Switzerland meeting.

On Thursday gave Federal President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis announced on Twitter that he would meet the two for bilateral talks. Cassis wrote that he was glad that Geneva could offer space for dialogue. One direct However, Switzerland does not have the role of mediator: Blinken and Lavrov will meet bilaterally.

only aCassis will then speak to each of them for around half an hour, like the foreign department (EDA) shared on request. In addition to the security situation and bilateral relations, the focus should also be on what Switzerland is doing within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to solve the Ukraine conflictS could help.
The deputies of the two foreign ministers met in Geneva last week. However, they were unable to ease the crisis surrounding Russia’s troop deployment on the Ukrainian border.

Geneva last summer was in the limelight when Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden met there for a summit. The then Federal President Guy Parmelin was also present. Scene of a historical US-Russian summit war Geneva in 1985 when US President Ronald Reagan toom first time met with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Waiver of border closure

Cassis also used the short message service Twitter for initial reports after his inaugural visit as Federal President in Berlin, where he met his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday. This was followed by meetings with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. After meeting the German head of state, Cassis wrote of a warm welcome in the German capital.

Cassis SAgent to Steinmeier, Switzerland’s trade alone with Baden-Württemberg have the same volume like trade with China. The presidents were unanimousthat the corona pandemic should not lead to border closures.

Apparently, there was also a good atmosphere at the meeting between Cassis and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, as was learned informally. Baerbock attaches great importance to a regulated relationship between Switzerland and the EU. Chancellor Scholz did the same – especially with a view to the economy.

Apparently, in a friendly atmosphere, the German side mentioned specific ways in which the relationship between Switzerland and the EU could become more prominent. It was not possible to find out exactly what these should look like on Thursday evening.

After the meeting with Cassis, Foreign Minister Baerbock tweeted that the aim was to further strengthen cross-border cooperation and the EU-Switzerland relationship for the people in the border regions.

German industry demands a solution

On Wednesday, the Federal Association of German Industry raised the issue of Switzerland – EU. The important association expects politicians to “rapidly resume constructive talks after the institutional framework agreement failed last year”.

Switzerland remains an important location for European industry. There are already significant economic disruptions in trade between the EU and Switzerland, especially for medical products and, in the foreseeable future, also for mechanical engineering. “More difficult product approvals, restrictions in research cooperation and inefficiencies in the energy markets damage companies and increase on both sides”, writes the German Industry Association.

Cassis’ packed program will conclude on Friday evening at the traditional Albisgüetli conference of the Zurich SVP, where the Federal President WILL give his speech, coming directly from Geneva.

Published: 01/20/2022, 21:52

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