Counteroffers: who but Switzerland can host the summit between Putin and Trump
Switzerland is ready to host talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump if the parties request it, the head of the Foreign Ministry's press service, Nicolas Bidault, has confirmed to Izvestia. But Moscow is unlikely to agree to this, given Switzerland's loss of its neutral status. According to experts, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may become the most likely venue for a meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States. All three monarchies are already involved as mediators between Moscow and Kiev to resolve humanitarian issues. These countries themselves are interested in hosting a meeting of this level, which would undoubtedly raise their prestige on the world stage. The possible location of the talks between Putin and Trump is the subject of Izvestia's article.
Why Switzerland is not suitable for negotiations between Putin and Trump
Switzerland is ready to hold talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump on its territory.
- "Switzerland is always ready to offer its good offices if they are useful and desirable for both sides," the head of the country's Foreign Ministry press service, Nicolas Bidault, told Izvestia.
On December 23, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow had received several proposals for Putin and Trump talks from various countries.
- I will not say which countries they are, so as not to predetermine possible or impossible developments, but such proposals have been and are being made," he said.
Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Yury Ushakov
As for Switzerland, Geneva hosted a Russia-US summit with Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden in June 2021. However, after the start of the SWO, Switzerland, in Moscow's view, began to lose its neutral status, which it had always been so proud of. The country's authorities not only supported all European sanctions imposed against Russia, but also froze Russian accounts totaling 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.8 billion).
On December 23, the Russian Embassy in Bern confirmed to Izvestia that Moscow is ready for a substantive and constructive dialog with Swiss representatives, including on Ukraine, but this does not mean that "Russia considers Switzerland as a potential mediator, especially if the confederation continues to follow a blatantly pro-Kiev course in the new year."
In this sense, it is unlikely that such a meeting could take place in one of the EU countries, given the way official Brussels treats attempts by individual members of the community to promote the idea of a peaceful settlement. At least Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's summer trip to Russia as part of his "peace mission" did not find understanding on the part of the EU leadership.
Another important obstacle to organizing such a meeting could be the country's membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC), which previously issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president. The European Commission said in late November that all EU countries, since they recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, are obliged to execute its warrants.
Recall that this year the Russian leader did not go to the G20 summit in Brazil, which also recognizes the jurisdiction of the ICC. According to Vladimir Putin, he has "excellent friendly relations" with the President of the country, and he did not go there in order not to disrupt the normal work of this forum.
"We understand perfectly well, and I understand that even if we exclude this ICC [as a limiting factor], the conversation will only be about that. We will actually disrupt the work of the G20. Why? We are adults," the Russian head of state explained his position.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on the margins of the G20 in Osaka, Japan
By the way, Vladimir Putin has already met with Donald Trump on the margins of the G20 in Osaka, Japan. Given that the next G20 summit is to be held in South Africa, this country could hypothetically become the venue for a future meeting. But, again, an ICC warrant could be an obstacle. Thus, at the BRICS summit in South Africa, Putin participated via video link.
However, it would be wrong to cross countries that recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC off the list of venues capable of hosting a meeting between the two leaders. A prime example was Mongolia, which Putin visited this year. Ulaanbaatar later attributed its refusal to arrest the Russian president to its "policy of neutrality" and the fact that Mongolia imports 95% of its oil products and over 20% of its electricity from neighboring countries, including Russia.
The main candidates in the Middle East
A truly neutral site in this regard could be one of the countries in the Middle East, such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. All of them do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and all of them play the role of mediators between Moscow and Kiev to a greater or lesser extent. Qatar, for example, has been mediating for the past two years the reunification of families separated by the Ukrainian conflict. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been involved in the exchange of prisoners between the sides.
On December 24, Doha said it was also ready to mediate between Russia and the new Syrian authorities. In the current circumstances, Qatar is the most likely candidate for the role of a platform for a meeting between Trump and Putin, according to orientalist Leonid Tsukanov.
- Doha played not the least role in the diplomatic process on Gaza, which is valuable for the US. In addition, Qatar can provide an expanded presence of other interested countries - for example, Turkey, with which Doha has allied relations. Somewhat less likely is the UAE. Abu Dhabi has strong ties with Russia and the U.S., but it also benefits from the ongoing confrontation (acting as a temporary refuge for sanctioned companies), and the UAE is hardly ready to change the status quo. Although a Qatar-UAE tandem of mediators is quite possible, but Doha will still play the leading role," said Leonid Tsukanov.
According to the expert, the participation of other Arab countries in the settlement and their provision of platforms for the meeting is even less likely, as most Middle Eastern players are now focused on regional cases.
Speaking about Saudi Arabia, in October Vladimir Putin called it a comfortable platform for negotiations on a settlement in Ukraine. However, he emphasized the importance of the substantive part of the event. He himself visited Saudi Arabia for the last time in December 2023, at which time he also visited the UAE.
In October 2024, it also became known that representatives of Moscow and Doha are discussing a likely meeting between Vladimir Putin and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Recall that during the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana in July, Putin personally invited Al-Thani to visit Russia. The emir also invited Putin to Qatar.
We should not forget that his first foreign tour in 2017, Trump began precisely with a visit to Saudi Arabia. According to political scientist and orientalist Elena Suponina, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are suitable as venues for the meeting of the two leaders.
- These are rich monarchies, and Trump is known to like rich countries. For sure, the opportunities of all three monarchies will be used for some kind of consultations on this topic. However, the closest relations Trump and his family have with Saudi Arabia. Here the level of the meeting also plays an important role. To host talks of this level is a prestige for the country," she explained.
It should also be recalled that in August 2023, Saudi Arabia was the initiator of consultations on Ukraine in Jeddah, to which Russia was not invited. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at the time that it was absurd and nonsense to fix decisions on the Ukrainian crisis at the political level without Moscow's participation.
Finally, Turkey should not be written off either. It was in Istanbul in the spring of 2022 that the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which started in Belarus, were continued. On March 10, the foreign ministers of the two countries met in Antalya, and on March 29, delegation-level talks started in Istanbul, during which the so-called Istanbul agreements were discussed.
In favor of Turkey's candidacy is the fact that its leadership has working contacts with both Russia and the West, explained Ilya Vedeneyev, a lecturer at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and an orientalist, to Izvestia.
-Secondly, the Turkish government , represented primarily by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is actively promoting Turkey as a country that is an active participant in international relations, which, being located at the intersection of East and West, can play the role of a mediator in conflicts between other countries," he concluded.
Fahrettin Altun, head of the Communications Department of the Turkish Presidential Administration, told Euronews that Turkey is ready to support the start of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. At the same time, during a press conference on 19 December, Vladimir Putin said that negotiations with Ukraine on the basis of the Istanbul agreements could be held only taking into account the realities on the ground.
