Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis says he is “cautious” regarding the transitional government in Syria
During a press briefing on Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs first underlined “the importance” of the WEF, which offers “a phenomenal possibility of contacts, political but also economic”.
Three themes occupied Ignazio Cassis in Davos during his meetings: the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and Europe.
“We are waiting for facts from the Syrian transitional government”
After meeting the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the transitional government in Syria Assad Hassan Al Shibani, Ignazio Cassis expressed his “caution”: “When we ask how they intend to carry out the process of transition to democracy and they need multilateral support, the answers remain vague. There are many intentions. But we must first see the facts before we can believe them. Switzerland has made itself available to offer support for the transition in Syria.
“Ukraine must remain master of its destiny”
On Ukraine: the Federal Councilor emphasizes having listened closely to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech at the WEF on Tuesday. “We feel that both parties cannot last much longer and that they are reaching the end of their capacities,” he noted. And everyone is impatiently waiting to know the American agenda. Donald Trump calls for an “immediate ceasefire” and negotiations to end the conflict. “But we cannot do this without Ukraine. It must be on the front line and remain master of its destiny,” said the Swiss minister.
-Regarding the American agenda again, Ignazio Cassis adds: “the whole planet is waiting with great impatience to see this second Trump administration at work. What is certain is that it will change the world, but we don’t yet know how.”
Humanitarian in Gaza
The Federal Councilor also met Israeli President Isaac Herzog, with whom he discussed the next steps in the ceasefire and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the upcoming entry into force of Israeli laws prohibiting UNRWA activities, Ignazio Cassis affirmed that according to his understanding, “Israeli laws will not prevent UNRWA to continue its work, they will prevent Israeli officials from having contacts and issuing visas. This does not affect local staff who work at UNRWA and who partly now also work for other UN agencies. For these people, “what will happen is not yet very clear”, affirms the federal councilor, “but there will be a contribution from these Unrwa employees to other agencies”.
Finally, even if the Ticino was not able to have discussions with American representatives in Davos, the “very tense” relations between the United States and Iran were at the heart of his meeting with the Iranian vice-president Mohammad Javad Zarif.
And Europe? With European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, “we agreed on the next steps” with a view to finalizing bilateral agreements, Ignazio Cassis simply noted.
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