By Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Many expressed outrage on social media over Switzerland's decision to admit pro-war Russian officials Valentina Matviyenko and others into their country for a meeting that hardly seemed urgent or vital — despite being under sanctions.
By inviting a Russian war criminal – speaker of the Russian "parliament" upper house V. Matviyenko – this previously respected international organisation should now be viewed as no longer professional or credible and a partner to Russian military aggression, genocide and war… pic.twitter.com/NUnAZg63ox
— Taras Kuzio🇬🇧🇪🇺🇺🇦🇮🇹 (@TarasKuzio) July 28, 2025
Lithuania and other countries' delegations walked out of the World Conference of Parliamentarians. Some called for seizing Matviyenko's property in Italy. The Times made the unhelpful claim that Matviyenko was the highest appointed stateswoman since Catherine the Great. (Does that tell you more about women's status in Russia than Matviyenko's status?)
French journalist Elena Servettaz has the best article I've seen on the back story — who? why? what?
We knew there'd be mumbling about "peace talks" or "negotiations" and she explains there was indeed.
This was a meeting of "women parliamentarians" where the Russian delegation included actual males (they are not transgender) and "parliamentarian" is a word that needs to be in scare quotes for Russia as well. It's the sort of boondoggle that countries spend way too much time on and some NGOs take way too seriously which especially for a country like Russia, but even America (especially nowadays) use as an excuse to have a foreign trip and some perks and duty-free shopping.
As Servettaz explains:
Switzerland generally prohibits people subject to sanctions from entering or transiting through the country under its ordinance on measures related to the situation in Ukraine. However, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and the foreign ministry may grant exemptions – especially if the person in question is attending an international conference.
Worse, this was a boondoggle papered over with "Think of the Children!":
Speaking to Swiss Public Broadcaster, RTSExternal link, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong said that bilateral meetings had not yet been confirmed but that the IPU is seeking to bring Russians and Ukrainians together at its conference.
He specifically mentioned the situation of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war as a possible topic for discussion. “Both sides agree that efforts must be made to reunite these children with their families,” Chungong said.
It's fine to seek return of Ukrainian children in any way possible through individual efforts, public or private, but not with direct talks with Russians at high-profile official international conferences that only lend legitimacy to Russian war criminals.
Ukrainians, supporters of Ukraine, Russian opposition abroad, and normal, decent people all went wild over this. Unless 500 abducted children are now on a plane to safety in Ukraine, it's hard to think of why this decision to bolster these figures with a platform in Switzerland could be justified.
Actually more, as after all, there are an estimated 1.6 million of them — a shocking, appalling, well-researched statistics (although not researched any more by the US administration which defunded that effort at Yale University). This abduction is a war crime; THIS is what has already earned Putin and other officials like "the child ombudswoman" who has provided cover for this in Russia as actual war criminals charged with genocide.
I think some people don't realize that Russia's leaders have indeed been legitimately issued warrants for arrest on charges of genocide by the International Criminal Court, with full investigations and facts found with genocide as it is defined under international law — just as the ICC has for Israel, not just as a rhetorical or aspirational label as happens with many situations in the world, and with far less controversy, although there are respected organizations and renowned figures who have made this judgement for Israel. Russia needs more of that kind of attention and certainty.
Sometimes these bad calls to invite war criminals somewhere are made ostensibly "for peace in Ukraine." There wasn't even a pretense, however, that there were any cease-fire talks going on privately in Switzerland with this gang — the talks are about "cooperation of women in parliament" could hardly be described in this fashion.
IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong External link told RTS ahead of this week’s conference that the Russian war in Ukraine is not on the agenda but that a debate is planned about parliamentary cooperation for peace and justice.
In fact…there should be no such cooperation with Russia given its horrific war against Ukraine, not to mention persecution of some parliamentarians like Ilya Ponomarev, the sole MP who voted against the annexation of Crimea, was stripped of parliamentary immunity, and who was forced to flee to Ukraine (where he continues to stir up controversy, including with the support of the assassination of the atrocious Alexander Dugin's daughter — a move I don't think is the path to justice myself). Or a local deputy like Alexei Gorinov now spending his third birthday in prison.
Of course, the reason they call it quiet diplomacy is because its quiet so we "can't know," but we can recall Jacobo Timmerman: "Quiet diplomacy is quiet; silent diplomacy is surrender."
As if on cue, the EU announced today that it is tightening up border control and moving to electronic surveillance systems instead of old-fashioned physical stamps in passports (I hope they keep them as they are fun to collect) and show off. Speaking of Aryeh Neier, he used to show us the multiple inserts he had to put in his passports because of all the international traveling he did!
Russian opposition figures are, as we know from the debates sparked by Amb. Michael McFaul's interview by Yury Dud, are reluctant to call for banning all Russian visas, or demanding that passports be renounced if asylum is sought (this isn't a requirement in the US) which I think is hard to justify on a blanket basis.
But given all the ceasefire "opportunities" arranged for him by the cynical Trump and his ignorant but obedient envoys, shouldn't the EU now install a freeze on visas? All visas. For all Russians. This is what the US has done, years ago. No exceptions. No tennis players thought to be neutral. No deserving relatives of political prisoners fleeing persecution or people about to become political prisoners themselves (as I have found from personally pleading such cases). At best, Russians who manage to make their way elsewhere, like Georgia or Turkey, might try their luck with the US Embassies there — in a climate where the US is putting Russian asylum-seekers on planes back to Russia. Note when President Joe Biden managed to spring a group of innocent Russian political prisoners as one of his swan songs in an exchange for Russian convicted criminals, they went to Germany, not the US, where they remain — let the German government deal with the fall-out.
It all seems cruel — to deprive desperate Russians of an escape hatch — and compel them to remain in their country where they are supposed to increase and publicize their pent-up protest and…what…topple Putin? OK, then.
But the spectacle of all these "golden youth" types — the children of wealthy or politically-connected (usually those two things go together) officials and oligarchs enjoying beaches in Italy or Croatia or Spain — what, Crimea wasn't good enough for you, guys? — is pretty appalling. Haven't you seen all those tweets and Tik-Toks of these atrocious tyolki rhapsodizing about their vacations and shopping?
Can't we stop all these visas, with perhaps some well-documented humanitarian visas?
To be sure, some EU countries have made it more difficult for Russians to get visas.
The idea suggested recently in the debates with McFaul, that Russians should have to indicate whether they support the war in Ukraine or not to get a visa, sounds great until you think of the practicalities. A genuine anti-war person then gets set up for further persecution in a foreign embassy in Russia sure to be bugged and monitored, and runs the risk of not getting the visa anyway after they declare their sentiment. As often happens in these cases, the more clever and the more fictitious will get the visas and the deserving will not — not to mention the moral repugnance of setting up a Soviet/Russian-like loyalty test.
Still, the optics are worse than ever, as Russian flock to vacations, complain about flight delays due to drone risks in their own country and unwanted destinations, even as their military rains down death on Ukrainian maternity hospitals, apartment buildings, schools, and playgrounds deliberately.
Therefore at this time, I agree with Sir William Browder that France, Italy, and Spain need to SUSPEND ALL VISAS FROM RUSSIA as a policy NOW.
Where I disagree is having the exception worded as follows:
"Unless the Russians can demonstrate in a visa interview that they're poposed to the Putin regime, they shouldn't be allowed to come to Europe."
As I said, I think that's wrong and not the way to go and NOT NECESSARY.
Instead, the embassy officials of those countries need to monitor the independent press inside the country (such as it is) and outside (no excuses there) and be familiar enough with the needs of individuals who might need humanitarian visas — and act upon that information unilaterally.
They can even announce that they may consider some humanitarian exceptions (which the US currently DOES NOT do) with demonstrable need, or some wording like that, but then they are expected to do their jobs and have the sense by actually reviewing the request thoroughly to see if it is legit.
Look, the exceptions are details and can be worked out without morally repugnant loyalty tests. This shouldn't impede the necessity of IMPOSING A VISA BAN ON RUSSIA NOW.
That's where the focus should be. France, Italy, and Spain at this point are not, with some notable exceptions, providing so much a safety valve for anti-war Russians to escape (or more self-interested draft resisters, even) but indulging regime tools and supporters and aiding the hideous war against Ukrainians.
You know, Russians against the war have had a lot of time to escape at this point. More than three years, since February 2022, or frankly, for 8 years before that. So let's not get sentimental or self-righteous about this. Impose the blanket visa ban now. Save those who warrant saving by doing your jobs.