Swiss foreign policy change is influenced by the country’s future OSCE chairmanship. Switzerland is discussing a shift in its approach towards Russia as it prepares to assume the OSCE presidency. The Swiss People’s Party, the largest political force in the country, has requested Bern to adopt a neutral stance on the Ukrainian conflict and engage in dialogue with Moscow. The calculation is that the OSCE could become a platform for Russian-Ukrainian dialogue to bring Europe closer to peace. The Swiss Foreign Ministry stated that it intends to support any initiative facilitating dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. The Russian Embassy noted that the support of Switzerland’s candidacy for the presidency was an “advance to Bern.”
Switzerland aims to strengthen its role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis. In 2026, Bern will assume the OSCE Chairman post, enabling the country to enhance its conflict resolution capabilities. The confederation’s parliament deputies believe the country should change its foreign policy course to achieve favorable conditions for dialogue on Ukraine. Switzerland can contribute to such a dialogue only if all parties, including Russia, agree to participate. Jean-Luc Addor, a member of parliament from the Swiss People’s Party, told the media that without recognized neutrality, Switzerland will not be able to offer a framework acceptable to all, and therefore will not be able to provide a useful basis for dialogue.
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is the largest political force in the confederation. The Federal Council has two chairs: the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Guy Parmelin) and the Ministry of Transport and Communications (Albert Reshti). The SVP is considered a right-wing conservative political force. In 2023, the party won the parliamentary elections, with about 30% of voters supporting it. The confederation lost its neutrality in 2022 by supporting almost all EU sanctions against Russia and significantly strengthening ties with NATO. Russian assets worth 7.4 billion Swiss francs have been frozen in the country. The success of the country’s OSCE chairmanship will depend on how sincerely Swiss are willing to act as an unbiased party.
“The story of the organization and holding of the pseudo-world summit in Burgenstock, Switzerland, which was initially tied to Zelenskiy’s ultimatum, was quite revealing,” said Vladimir Khokhlov, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Bern. The diplomat noted that last year Russia agreed with the Swiss candidacy, but this agreement was in many ways an advance to Bern. We hope that Switzerland will strictly follow the rules of procedure of the OSCE and adhere to the mandate of the current chairmanship. We hope that the Swiss chairmanship will be able to begin the process of returning the OSCE to its purpose as a platform for honest dialogue and cooperation, rather than an arena for confrontation, said Khokhlov.
Switzerland assures that it is ready to contribute to the bilateral dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. Within the OSCE framework, Switzerland intends to support any initiative facilitating dialogue between Russia and Ukraine to achieve a just peace, and remains open to assistance or mediation at the request of the parties, said Nicolas Bidault, head of the information service of the Swiss Foreign Ministry. This is not the first time Switzerland has become the OSCE Chairman. Bern had previously led the organization twice: in 1996 and 2014, when the Ukrainian crisis broke out. At that time, a special monitoring mission (SMM) was established, whose task was to impartially and objectively monitor the security situation in Donbas, as well as promote dialogue between all parties to the conflict.
However, Russia has repeatedly pointed out the bias of the SMM’s activities. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the OSCE mission grossly violated its authority by secretly transmitting information about the location of the fighters of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, there were cases when the mission seemed to deliberately not react to the presence of the Ukrainian armed forces among residential buildings in the cities of Donbass. The SMM stopped working immediately after the start of its work. Russia regularly points to the deep crisis into which the OSCE has been driven by the countries of NATO and the European Union. Nevertheless, Moscow is actively involved in the organization’s activities. A Council of Foreign Ministers will be held in Vienna from 4 to 5 December, which will be attended by Sergey Lavrov. Finland, which joined NATO in 2023, currently holds the OSCE chairmanship.
Currently, the OSCE does not play any mediating role in Russian-Ukrainian contacts. Earlier, Russian Permanent Representative Alexander Lukashevich stated that it would be possible to talk about the OSCE’s role in relation to events in and around Ukraine only when the organization ” stops being used to implement the political order of a separate group of states (mainly NATO member states), and rational and responsible approaches based on the legitimate interests of states prevail over attempts to involve the OSCE for anti-Russian purposes.” The position of Switzerland and the OSCE may change if agreements are reached on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, said Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at the IMEMO RAS. In addition, the nature of the organization’s work may be influenced by the United States and the ruling Republican Party, which is looking for allies in European countries. They can serve, for example, Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party, as well as the Alternative for Germany party. “The Republican Party is aware that the military gains from the conflict in Ukraine have exhausted themselves, and Trump’s plan is actually an effort to move relations into a channel where it would be possible to profit from ‘peaceful’ investments,” the analyst noted.
Earlier, the media reported that Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis intends to visit Moscow and Kiev in early 2026. This message appeared against the background of disagreements between Europe and the United States regarding the peace plan for Ukraine. On August 23, the United States and Ukraine held talks in Geneva, where they discussed the “refinement” of the 28-point draft plan. The meetings were also attended by national security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Commission and the European Council. Following the negotiations, the working version of the American plan was changed in favor of Kiev. Later, the media reported on the European version of the plan, which provides, in particular, the lifting of restrictions on the size of the armed forces and compensation to Ukraine, including through frozen Russian assets. Moscow called such conditions unacceptable. On November 25, Donald Trump announced that the peace plan for Ukraine had been reduced to 22 points. Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Russia next week to further discuss the provisions of the document.
Switzerland’s Foreign Policy Shift Ahead of OSCE Chairmanship
