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Switzerland could provide approximately 200 troops for a future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if an official request were made and the country’s government approved it.
This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces, Thomas Süssli, in an interview published on Sunday, as quoted by Reuters.
Discussions about deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine are currently purely hypothetical, as it remains unclear how the situation between the two warring sides will develop, Süssli noted.
“There is no peace yet, and there has been no request from the UN,” he said in an interview with the newspaper SonntagsBlick.
At the same time, he emphasized that Switzerland could likely send “about 200 soldiers for a period of 9-12 months.”
He stressed that if Switzerland received such a request, the issue would be decided by the government and parliament.
Neutral Switzerland participates in several peacekeeping missions worldwide, the largest of which is in Kosovo, where its troops support NATO forces (KFOR).
European countries are discussing the possibility of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.
According to media reports, the UK and France’s plan for a peacekeeping contingent envisions the deployment of up to 30,000 European troops. However, this plan depends on whether they can persuade the U.S. president to agree to a limited military role for the United States.
Notably, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that for Russia, the deployment of troops from NATO member states on Ukrainian territory after a peace agreement is reached would be unacceptable.
Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump has supported the idea of deploying European armed forces in Ukraine for a peacekeeping mission.
Read also: Trump could strike deal with Russia to end war in Ukraine ‘this week’ – White House
