Today and tomorrow, on July 4 and 5, 2022, representatives of almost 40 countries will discuss the prospects of Ukraine's post-war recovery. The international conference in the Swiss city of Lugano is intended to launch the process of national reconstruction of Ukraine, which is still in a state of war.
The main goal of the conference is to sign the final "Declaration of Lugano", which will outline the most important principles of the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and which will later determine which country will undertake certain tasks or who will contribute how much money for the purposes of reconstruction.
Addressing the participants of the video conference from Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "Russia's war is not just an attempt to take over our country, but it is also a challenge to the entire European system. Therefore, the restoration of Ukraine is not just a local matter, it is the task of the entire democratic world."
In turn, the President of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis, called on the delegates to harmonize the "Declaration of Lugano" with the principles of restoring Ukraine and strengthening the stability of the country in the near future, "the act of aggression of Russia against Ukraine forced us to unite and oppose this war with all the determination we are capable of, taking on the obligation to support the Ukrainian people, who faced difficult trials on the long road to sustainable recovery."
The President of Switzerland added that this conference is also designed to help Ukraine carry out fundamental political reforms and transformations.
"It is very important that these efforts continue steadily, especially with regard to combating corruption and strengthening the principles of the independence of the country's judicial system. The war cannot stop the reforms," said Ignazio Cassis.
The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal is personally present at the conference together with several members of the Parliament of Ukraine. In his speech, he noted that the recovery plan for Ukraine is estimated at 750 billion dollars and that the Ukrainian authorities are counting on confiscated Russian assets.
Regarding confiscation of Russian assets, Swiss edition Swissinfo, reported that huge amounts of capital of Russian origin are concentrated in Switzerland, but can and should these assets be confiscated and used for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine? The international community has been discussing such ideas for a long time. In Switzerland, the parliament has already taken up this issue. But what may seem emotionally like an act of supreme justice, from a legal point of view turns out to be a much more complicated matter.
According to Swiss experts: Bern's unilateral expropriation of Russian assets that have come under sanctions will deal a blow to Switzerland's reputation as a world financial center, unless such a decision is adopted by a number of states on an international scale and as an exception.
