Zelenskyy plans visit to Switzerland next week

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may visit Switzerland next week for at least two days.

Source: Tages-Anzeiger, citing several independent sources familiar with plans for the visit; European Pravda

Details: The Ukrainian president is considering visiting Bern on 15 January ahead of his appearance in Davos at the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is to be held on 15-19 January.

According to Tages-Anzeiger sources, the visit has been planned since mid-December. The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has neither confirmed nor denied this.

Sources from the federal administration said the planned visit by the Ukrainian president will likely not be confirmed until the last moment.

Tages-Anzeiger also noted that whether Zelenskyy is able to come to Switzerland next week or not is likely to depend on the military situation in Ukraine.

The final decision on Zelenskyy’s visit to Bern and Davos is yet to be made. A senior Ukrainian official stated that discussions are still ongoing.

Alternatively, Zelenskyy may deliver his WEF speech via videolink as he did last year.

The schedule for Zelenskyy’s visit to Bern is not yet known. A meeting may be held at the Lohn Estate in Kehrsatz, 5 km away from the centre of Bern, where the Federal Council traditionally receives foreign guests. It is easier for the security services to surround this location than the centre of the capital.

Background:

• Earlier, the Federal Council of Switzerland announced the allocation of an additional 11.8 million Swiss francs (€12.5 million) to help Ukrainians during the winter period.
• Before that, the lower house of the Swiss Parliament, following the upper Council of States, adopted an amendment to legislation which somewhat eases arms export requirements.
• In theory, the new amendment will allow Switzerland to approve the re-export of weapons to Ukraine, but neither its initiators nor the Federal Government have announced such intentions.
• In September, the National Council of Switzerland rejected a proposal by the Council of States to change the rules on the re-export of armaments to countries involved in military conflicts.

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