Opinion column: «For another reading of the situation in Ukraine».»

Unpublished article - Marco Polli

In line with our editorial policy, we are keen to publish opinions with which our editorial staff, or part of it, disagrees. In the following article, French-speaking actor and director Marco Polli shares his views on Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, analyzing what he sees as the West's responsibilities in the conflict. The author also details his criticism of the sanctions taken by Switzerland in aligning itself with the EU. For a different take on the subject, readers are referred to the following websites in particular articles by Clément Guntern, responsible for our international section.

Caught in the middle of Europe and its great 19th-century powers^th Switzerland gained international recognition of its neutrality in 1815, at the Congress of Vienna. In 1847-48, at the risk of intervention by the powers of the old regime, which supported the Sonderbund, the Diet put an end to the secession by means of a short armed operation, limiting the damage because, as General Dufour had declared, «we'll have to live with the vanquished». In the space of ten months, the victors created a direct democracy unique in Europe, with a subtle distribution of powers to ensure unity while respecting diversity, granting its citizens broad decision-making powers ((654 items submitted to the Swiss people between 1848 and 2021, not counting cantonal and communal votes.)), and putting its linguistic and cultural communities on an equal footing. For 174 years, this has guaranteed civil peace, and peace with our neighbors.

My country has made four founding civilizational choices: neutrality, peace, independence and conflict resolution through negotiation. I have no intention of letting it be taken away by one-sided, warlike media campaigns. Debate is essential to democracy, and it has its requirements: freedom of expression, plurality of opinions and sources, respect for facts and the rules of civility. Ernst Bollinger((Ernst Bollinger (1934-2011), The Swiss press: structure and diversity, Herbert Lang, 1976; Swiss Press: facts and opinions, Payot, 1986. A recognized specialist, he headed the Geneva State Information Service from 1987 to 1993.)), a specialist in the Swiss press, was already concerned in the 1970s about the disappearance, since the end of 1950, of the 350 post-war opinion periodicals which, covering a very broad spectrum, enabled people to form their own opinions. With regard to Ukraine, for the past eight years our media have been almost unanimous in disseminating information emanating mainly from NATO services, demonizing a Russia caricatured by the degrading image of its president.

The weight of history

To understand the events in Ukraine, we need to go back to the aftermath of the Cold War, when the USSR was liquidated and both sides made commitments to open up a peaceful world.

On July 31, 1991, Presidents Gorbachev and Bush-father signed the START I (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) agreement, committing their two countries to reducing their strategic nuclear arsenals and respecting the post-war status quo. The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and the United States, meeting in the wake of the agreement, took note of Russia's decision to restore independence to the satellites of the USSR, and of its demand, as a pledge of peace, that NATO not be extended close to its borders. In an interview with Le 1^er March 2022 at Sud Radio, Roland Dumas, who represented France, reminds us of the terms and conditions, and also that it was Ukraine that took the steps to join the European Union (EU) with NATO. It certainly didn't do it of its own accord.

However, it was on the abandonment of neutrality between the EU and Russia and of the status of its minority languages that Ukraine became embroiled in an impasse that led it to a very cruel war against its civilian populations, causing 15,000 direct deaths and two million displaced persons between 2014 and 2021, 500,000 of whom were taken in by Russia. The war didn't start on February 24, 2022 with Russia's intervention, but in 2014 with the civil war waged against its Russian-speaking populations in the east by the nationalist government in Kiev. Of course, the fact remains that Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is an act to be condemned, and one that plunges these countries, starting with Ukraine, into horror.

A strategy stitched together with white thread

Objectively speaking, Ukraine, Russia and Europe had everything to gain from a good understanding that would guarantee the peace and prosperity of Northern Europe, from west to east. All the more so as the West is largely dependent on Russia for its gas and oil supplies. So who had an interest in breaking the chain linking Eastern and Western Europe?

As soon as he took office, Joe Biden made a thunderous statement, calling Putin a «killer». Biden is no crazier than Putin. Nor less, for that matter. His breaking of an unspoken peace between the two great powers is driven by geopolitical considerations based on opposition to the opening up of Europe to the East, with access to a huge market and its resources, reinforced by the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and plans for the 4,000 km Druzhba (‘friendship«) pipeline, linking Germany directly to Russia as far as Siberia. The U.S. government had done everything in its power to dissuade Merkel from getting involved, but to no avail.

All that remained was to drive a wedge between Eastern and Western Europe, according to the strategy advocated by Zbigniew Brzeziński((Zbigniew Brzeziński (1928-2017), advisor to successive presidents since Carter. He is the author of The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (1997), translated into French as The Grand Chessboard (Payot)), 25 years ago, making Ukraine a «geostrategic pivot» by integrating it into the European Union and NATO in order to isolate Russia, which is what Biden has successfully done. American commentators, in favor of the policy of détente initiated by Bush-father, had at the time strongly denounced the cynicism of Brzeziński's thesis, which implied the sacrifice of the Ukrainian people. Today, we're there. And if we take stock, taking into account the chronology of warlike operations in Ukraine since 2014, the blame is shared.

What kind of Europe are we talking about?

Drawing on the lessons of the war, de Gaulle had recommended a Europe of nations from the Atlantic to the Urals, It was a question of pooling what unites it, while retaining national prerogatives such as the United States with its 50 stars, and Switzerland with its cantons and communes. It was a question of pooling what unites it, while retaining national prerogatives, like the United States with its 50 stars, and Switzerland with its cantons and communes. He had no sympathy for communism, but, as a visionary, he was betting on a political dynamic of peace, which would lead to the shared prosperity essential to the establishment of democracy.

And it's a very strange European Union, The European Union was cut off from Russia out of allegiance to the United States, which did everything in its power to keep it out, and from Great Britain, which left. De Gaulle called it a «contraption». Jacques Delors, in a flash of lucidity, declared in 1985: «You can't fall in love with a big market». The people have never identified with it: in May and June 2005, they were called upon to vote by universal suffrage on the European Constitutional Treaty which defined the guidelines, the French and then Dutch citizens rejected it by 54.7% and 61.6% respectively. The European Commission has decided to dispense with the opinion of the people.

A tree is judged by its fruit, and a policy by its consequences.

If we look at the consequences, the war in Ukraine is a real catastrophe for the majority of Europeans, who were already in a precarious situation as a result of the Covid crisis, and are now faced with an explosion in the price of raw materials. Europe absolutely needed peace, so that it could commit all its resources to a recovery that would meet its needs, both economic and political, and unite its widely divided populations. Instead, Europe's leaders have squandered 450 million euros on supplying «lethal weapons».» (sic) to Ukraine. In short: they have chosen war over recovery.

Equipped with nuclear weapons, NATO had been conceived in opposition to the USSR, which was dissolved on December 25, 1991. In a bid to appease the USSR, and unable to abolish NATO, which would have been logical, it was agreed that it would not extend to Russia's borders. It was a reasonable and respectable compromise. It's hard to understand the strategy of the EU's leaders, who lacked discernment to say the least. In blindly following Uncle Sam, they failed to see that Europe was as much a target of the Brzeziński doctrine as Russia.

Contrary to the beliefs of misinformed ideologists, political scientists, anthropologists and other specialists who have studied the Russian reality agree that Vladimir Putin has not only turned around his economy, which had been ruined under Yeltsin, but that he has also bet to the limit on peace with Europe and the United States. Russia's vast territory and rich subsoil give it a relative autarky that disunited Europe does not enjoy, and it is doubtful that sanctions can bring it to its knees. On the other hand, they have strengthened a hitherto minority Slavophile far right, which aspires to win back lost territories and is ready to do battle with the EU, forcing the Russian government to reorient its strategy and forge new alliances.

Our relationship with Europe

Switzerland maintains a wide range of relations with every European country, from the Atlantic to the Urals (Vladimir Putin, an admirer of General de Gaulle, extended the formula to «from Lisbon to Vladivostok»). To date, however, there have been no reports of direct disputes between Russia and Switzerland that would justify sanctions, all the more so as, economically speaking, our country has every interest in maintaining good relations with Russia. The same cannot be said of a European Union that has allowed itself unacceptable interference in our domestic politics, accompanied by sanctions penalizing our scientific exchanges in the name of its concept of free movement. More astute than some of its neighbors((The influx of unintegratable immigrants into France has led to serious domestic unrest (cf. «les territoires perdus de la République»). The revelation of the Bolkestein directive has been blamed for the rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty by French and then Dutch citizens.)), Switzerland has, in fact, adopted a balanced immigration policy by universal suffrage, taking into account its capacity to welcome foreigners under good conditions. Similarly, it did not wish to join the EU in order to safeguard its democratic prerogatives, although it remains a partner, among others.

For all these reasons, and others, it was unreasonable to associate Switzerland with European sanctions. Russia's response was swift and logical: it turned off the tap. And the Swiss people are paying the price.

For world peace and recovery in Switzerland

In the name of our country’s founding values (neutrality, peace, independence, and conflict resolution through negotiation), I distance myself from all those who have led to this war and are continuing it—from Biden to Putin, including the government in Kyiv and the European Union, as well as all our armchair strategists who are fanning the flames on our borders.

A democratic country is not governed by acting hastily on the basis of emotional outbursts and condemnations, but through rational arguments that allow for dialogue, while respecting the mandates of the people and our elected officials, our laws, and our Constitution, and taking the time necessary to make sound decisions. For now, there are two main priorities.

Very large segments of the population—wage earners, small business owners, the unemployed, and retirees—have been pushed into precarious circumstances by the COVID crisis, or have even fallen into poverty, while facing rising prices for basic necessities. They must benefit from our confederal solidarity. In this unique situation, our country must strengthen the bonds that unite its citizens by mobilizing them around a comprehensive economic recovery plan.

For Peace in Europe

Thanks to its neutrality and active diplomacy across all continents, «little» Switzerland has succeeded in establishing itself as a peaceful venue conducive to negotiations. As the founding nation of the Red Cross, it is home to the UN, the WHO, and other prestigious global institutions that contribute to its prosperity. In the face of the war in Ukraine, it had a role to play that was in keeping with its unique character.

In 2014–2015, Didier Burkhalter, while serving as Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), led negotiations with the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia that resulted in the Minsk Agreements. Since the first agreement had no effect, a second one—known as Minsk 2—was set to take effect on February 15, 2015. Switzerland should have spoken out the very next day to call on the warring parties to respect it and to respond to Zelensky’s boastful declarations that he would not abide by it. Its failure to do so was a missed opportunity. The fact that it adopted unilateral sanctions seven years later is a political mistake.

Unless one were counting on a world war—or the utterly illusory destruction of Russia—it was only a matter of time before negotiations would take place. The fact that the first conference following the failure of Minsk 1 and 2 is being held in Ankara, under Erdogan’s auspices, is a strong signal that should set off alarm bells. For it is in Geneva, the seat of the UN, at the heart of Europe, that this conference could and should have been held. Blinded by their own delusions, the EU’s leaders and cheerleaders have not even realized that they have sidelined themselves. And likely for a long time to come. With similar blindness, the Federal Council, by aligning itself with these sanctions, has sold our privileged position on the international stage for a pittance, with unpredictable long-term consequences. Can this be undone? 

What now?

The least our authorities can do is to immediately refrain from imposing any sanctions against anyone so that we can refocus our diplomacy in all directions. Bolstered by this normalization of our international relations—which is in keeping with our country’s mission—they will be able to focus on a domestic recovery effort to support the Swiss population, which has been severely affected by the COVID crisis.

Solidarity with war victims is a noble sentiment. A great many people have committed themselves in good faith to humanitarian efforts to welcome Ukrainian refugees. But humanitarian action cannot and must never be exploited for partisan propaganda that favors one of the parties called upon to participate in negotiations leading to peace. The political forces driving them to do so are abusing their good faith, because sanctions perpetuate a state of tension that pushes the prospects for peace further away and increases the number of victims.

Toward More Opinion Pieces

Editor's note: The claim that the United States allegedly promised not to expand NATO eastward is frequently cited. Although this claim has long been refuted, it continues to be used to justify Vladimir Putin’s policies. For more on the so-called U.S. promise not to expand NATO, see, for example, this op-ed by Lasha Otkhmezuri, a renowned historian, in Le Monde.