UKRAINE FORUM IN THE SWISS PARLIAMENT

On September 23, Mykola Riabchuk, Principal Research Fellow at the Department of Political Culture and Ideologies, took part in the Ukraine Forum – an expert discussion on current situation in Ukraine, held in Bern in the building of Swiss parliament.

The event, organized by the Ukrainian-Swiss Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ukrainian Society of Switzerland, and University of Fribourg, summoned a few dozen analysts, policymakers, members of parliament and international ambassadors based in Bern, to openly exchange views, under the Chatham House rules, on the state and prospects of Ukraine-Switzerland cooperation and major obstacles to its further development.

In his introductory speech, Dr. Riabchuk explained the existential character of the war for Ukrainians under the Russian overtly genocidal intentions, pointed out at virtual impossibility to reach any viable peace agreement with Russia insofar as that country never observed any agreements, and warned against mindless acceptance of Russian explanatory frameworks and terminology that obscure than clarify the essence of the developments. The major debate, however, focused on the hot issue of much-needed re-export of Swiss weapon to Ukraine – something that is arguably precluded by the Swiss neutral status, although no formal restriction on this does exist.