Switzerland did not sign any communique after the presentation of the China-Brazil peace plan at the U.N. General Assembly in September, participating merely as an observer, Swiss Ambassador to Ukraine Felix Baumann told Interfax Ukraine in an interview published on Oct. 4.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva touted his peace plan jointly developed with China in New York, despite the proposal already being dismissed as "destructive" by Ukraine.
Swiss media outlet Blick reported on Sept. 28, citing a spokesperson for the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Nicolas Bideau, that Switzerland expressed support for China and Brazil's peace initiatives. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry responded by saying that President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula is "the only path to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace."
Baumann said that Switzerland has not changed its position that "any response to Russia's full-scale against Ukraine must fully respect international law, the U.N. Charter, and, particularly, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine."
The ambassador added that Switzerland believes that all peace plans that respect these fundamental principles should be considered.
"This is exactly what we saw in the final communique of the first Ukraine peace summit, which took place in Switzerland in June. This summit was built on previous discussions based on the Ukrainian peace formula and other peace proposals that are in line with international law and the U.N. Charter," Baumann said.
"It was in line with this position that the Swiss Foreign Ministry decided to participate as an observer in the meeting initiated by the Chinese and Brazilian sides," the ambassador added.
In May, Brazil and China pitched a six-point peace plan that called on both Russia and Ukraine to avoid "escalation of hostilities" and "provocations."
It came as a parallel plan to Ukraine's peace efforts based on Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, which included a global peace summit in Switzerland in June. China did not attend the summit despite the invitation, while the Brazilian representative who was present did not sign the resulting communique.
Moscow has previously said it would accept Brazil and China as intermediaries for possible peace talks. While the two countries refused to publicly take sides in the war, China served as Russia's key economic lifeline and a source of dual-use goods.
There have been no direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia since early 2022.
Moscow named Ukraine giving up on occupied territory and ceding additional ground as conditions for talks. In turn, Kyiv's 10-point peace formula includes a complete Russian withdrawal from the country.
Chris York
