On May 16, 2019, a round table on “Crisis between Russia and the West: What Can Switzerland Do?” was held in Coppet Castle near Geneva (Switzerland). The event was organized by the Russian Honorary Consulate in Lausanne, Switzerland. At the invitation of the Honorary Consul General Frederick Paulsen Timur Makhmutov, RIAC Deputy Director of Programs, made a speech at the round table. Sergey Garmonin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Switzerland; Filippo Lombardi, Member of the Swiss Council of States, Co-Chairman of the Switzerland-Russia friendship group of the Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation; and Lorenzo Amberg, former Ambassador of Switzerland to Russia; also presented their reports. The discussion was moderated by Eric Hoesli, renowned Swiss journalist, Professor at the University of Geneva and Institute of Technology Lausanne.
On May 16, 2019, a round table on “Crisis between Russia and the West: What Can Switzerland Do?” was held in Coppet Castle near Geneva (Switzerland). The event was organized by the Russian Honorary Consulate in Lausanne, Switzerland. At the invitation of the Honorary Consul General Frederick Paulsen Timur Makhmutov, RIAC Deputy Director of Programs, made a speech at the round table. Sergey Garmonin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Switzerland; Filippo Lombardi, Member of the Swiss Council of States, Co-Chairman of the Switzerland-Russia friendship group of the Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation; and Lorenzo Amberg, former Ambassador of Switzerland to Russia; also presented their reports. The discussion was moderated by Eric Hoesli, renowned Swiss journalist, Professor at the University of Geneva and Institute of Technology Lausanne.
The following issues were discussed in the course of the meeting: changing the world order and regional European dynamics at the turn of the 20th – 21st centuries, the impact of the Balkan, Georgian, Syrian, and Ukrainian crises on relations between Russia and the West, and the prospects for the evolution of international law and international organizations in present conditions.
The interest of the audience also focused on the new trends in economic cooperation between countries in Eurasia, the prospects of the EAEU, and the strengthening of China’s economic activity. Particular attention was paid to the understanding and development of ideas of the neutrality of Switzerland, both within Swiss society and beyond.
