GENEVA, April 10. /TASS/. The Swiss Foreign Ministry could use the peace plan which was developed in 2022 under the auspices of Turkey in order to reach a compromise at the conference on Ukraine that Bern has agreed to host, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported, citing a person it identified only as an observer.
The newspaper said that Kiev and Washington insist on prioritizing the plan that was proposed by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. This plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from all territories that Ukraine regards as its own. This approach is supported by other Western countries, such as France, but not by Russia, the report said.
The source cited by Le Temps said that "the fighting will not end if Russia's point of view is not taken into account," even if it is not present at the conference. Therefore, the Swiss Foreign Ministry, according to the newspaper, is "exploring various compromise-based options." For example, the ministry "does not rule out that it will draw inspiration from the peace plan that was developed under the auspices of Turkey at the very beginning of the war in 2022." That proposal "stipulated that Russia will hold the front lines in the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula." It also called for Ukraine to "become neutral with security guarantees." The proposal included a "partial demilitarization of Ukraine."
The newspaper reported that there is no guarantee that Russia will agree to return to this plan, as it has an advantage on the battlefield. With respect to this, a diplomat whom the newspaper didn’t name, said that "the Ukrainian government is undoubtedly counting on the summit in Switzerland to mobilize its allies anew and encourage them to increase arms deliveries."
Russia’s position
Switzerland has not invited Russia to the conference on Ukraine. However, the press service of the Russian embassy in Bern told TASS on April 9 that even if an invitation does come, Russia will not accept it because the event aims to push Zelensky's unviable "peace formula" that does not take into account Moscow's interests.
Bloomberg reported on April 8, citing unidentified sources, that Switzerland could hold a conference on Ukraine from June 16-17. In February, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said that the conference would be held at the ministerial level.
Istanbul agreements
The agreement, which was agreed over several meetings between representatives of Ukraine and Russia, was scrapped in March 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he received representatives of seven African countries last June as they came to present their peace initiative on Ukraine, showed them the initialed agreement, which included 18 articles and annexes. It included provisions on neutrality and security guarantees.
In March, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said that the proposed agreement had lost its relevance because, among other things, some areas it mentioned changed their status as they "became regions of the Russian Federation.".