Switzerland ready to give Putin immunity for peace talks
Switzerland is prepared to grant Russian President Vladimir Putin immunity from arrest if he travels to Geneva for peace negotiations, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in an interview on Aug. 19.
"The goal of welcoming Mr. Putin to Switzerland without him being arrested is 100% achievable," Cassis told Swiss broadcaster SRF. "We can determine this in a few days." He clarified that immunity would only apply for official peace talks, not for private visits.
The offer comes amid renewed calls for a bilateral meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin. While efforts are ongoing to broker the meeting — particularly by U.S. President Donald Trump and Kyiv's European allies — Switzerland has been floated as a possible host for the peace talks.
Putin remains the subject of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for his role in the systematic abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. As a signatory to the ICC, Switzerland is legally obliged to enforce the warrant. However, Cassis indicated that a special exception might be possible for the peace talks.
Ukraine reports that more than 19,500 children have been abducted by Russia during the full-scale war and forcibly transferred to Russia, the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, or Belarus. Only 1,545 have been returned home.
Last year, Switzerland hosted Ukraine's global peace summit in June, with around 100 countries and organizations in attendance. Seventy-eight states and four organizations signed the final joint communique, calling for Russia to release all prisoners of war and return all deported Ukrainian children, among other things.
