Myths and the truth about Swiss "neutrality"

In mid-July, an event called the Peace forum for Ukraine was held in the Swiss resort town of Burgenstock near Lucerne. The two-day summit was attended by many Western countries and a small number of representatives of what is now called the Global South. Russia was not invited to the conference, and for this reason, many analysts predicted in advance the senselessness of the event. Switzerland, which historically has always prided itself on its neutrality in all international confrontations, took over the holding of the peace conference. However, neutrality is different from neutrality. Non-participation in the war does not mean the neutrality of the state. But more on that later.

The peace conference on Ukraine did not yield any results, but the Armenians liked the idea, and the lobby in the Swiss parliament was mobilized.

On September 19, Swiss MP Erich Fontobel, along with 15 other deputies, sent a written request to representatives of the country's executive power regarding the issue of the return of Armenians to Karabakh and the "restoration of their rights." The country's authorities were asked to answer the following questions: does Switzerland recognize the right of Karabakh Armenians to return and "exercise their right to self-determination there" and does the Swiss delegation intend to raise these issues at COP29.

It is not reported exactly what the government replied to the lobbyists, but on Wednesday, October 16, it became known that the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Swiss Federal Assembly (Parliament) called on the government to organize an international peace conference on the Karabakh conflict concluded last September. According to the Armenian media, the committee adopted a corresponding resolution, which must now pass through the upper house of parliament. The purpose of the hypothetical peace conference is designated as "facilitating dialogue between representatives of Azerbaijan and the Armenians of Karabakh regarding the safe and collective return of the Armenian population under the supervision or presence of international actors." The resolution refers to "documented ethnic cleansing", "destruction of heritage", decisions of the International Court of Justice, resolutions of the European Parliament and other things that mean nothing to resolve the issue. In order to strengthen their position and inspire the country's authorities, the authors of the product of lobbying creativity point out that "Switzerland has an exceptional opportunity to use its proven role as a neutral mediator to start a constructive dialogue between the parties to the conflict. Such a commitment will not only continue Switzerland's humanitarian tradition, but also strengthen its position as a reliable partner in international diplomacy."

So, let's go through the points. The Armenians of Karabakh have never been a party to the conflict, and the conflict itself has long been settled. If the Swiss deputies somehow missed this moment, the Internet is at their service. Baku offered the residents of the Karabakh region of Armenian nationality a dialogue after the 2020 war. They refused. That's all.

Further, it makes no sense to raise the issue of "unhindered return under supervision" and so on. Baku has already expressed its position quite clearly, and it is well known. The Karabakh Armenians who left for Armenia made a big mistake by listening to their ideologues. But what has been done has already been done. The return will not be massive and unhindered. It will be selective and only after the adoption of Azerbaijani citizenship and recognition of the Azerbaijani Constitution. Armenians who have returned to Karabakh will have to get rid of old habits, they should not expect special treatment and expect special rights. There will be no solemn escort in the form of another European mission, UN peacekeepers and the like. The issue of each returnee will be resolved individually, and the rights and security of its citizens of Armenian origin will be ensured by the Azerbaijani state.

The Swiss authorities may well announce, under the influence of the lobby, that they recognize "ethnic cleansing" and "the right of Armenians to self-determination." Once they recognized the fake "Armenian genocide" and even criminalized its denial - so what? Has it changed anything for Armenia? What did this give the Armenians besides deepening their isolation in the region? Also, nothing but maintaining this isolation for many years to come will give Armenians a positive response to the requests of the Armenian lobby. Most of the deputies in the Swiss parliament will not find Karabakh on the map. We have no doubt that even among those who signed the paper, many people hear for the first time about what is written in it. The only motivation that can touch some strings in our heads is related to the religious factor. That's the only thing they can understand.

Now about neutrality. Switzerland always declares its neutrality and is proud of this status - the status of a country that is with no one and for no one. But in fact, this is far from the case. Switzerland's neutrality has always been a screen behind which the interests of the belligerents or warring parties coincided with the interests of Bern. So, during the Second World War, Nazi criminals invested about 15 billion Reichsmarks in Swiss banks. And the opacity of the financial flows that passed through Swiss banks allowed them to buy currency with stolen gold. It was blood gold, not only taken out of banks in the occupation zone, but also taken from Holocaust victims and murdered concentration camp prisoners in the form of jewelry and gold teeth. All this passed through the banks of "neutral" Switzerland. Moreover, through the Swiss Bank for International Settlements, British and American banks fruitfully cooperated with the Reichsbank throughout the war. In 1946, Switzerland was ordered to pay a fine of $ 250 million for transactions with the Third Reich. However, this agreement was only partially implemented, and no one is in a hurry to demand its full implementation from Bern.

So the argument of neutrality is not suitable to justify why Switzerland should hold a peace conference at the request of the Armenians. The very fact that such resolutions are being promoted in the country's parliament is no longer consistent with the principle of neutrality. And if the idea of a peace conference on non-peaceful issues finds support in the government, it will mean that Switzerland is grossly interfering in the internal affairs of another state. The war between Russia and Ukraine is one thing, but interference in issues that are exclusively within the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan itself and do not concern anyone else is another.

The Armenians and their guardians really want to arrange a trial, hang out in the resorts of Switzerland, combining business with pleasure. We will not claim that they will still be able to drag a scanty number of countries to this gathering, but we hope for the intelligence of Swiss politicians who make decisions. In general, we still continue to believe in reason, although this concept has long been forgotten in the world.