As tensions flare in the South Caucasus, Swiss diplomats continue to play a critical role in ongoing negotiations. Switzerland’s 2014 chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has given it a leading role in international mediation efforts, not only in the protracted conflicts of the South Caucasus, but also in other crisis areas in the OSCE region.

Switzerland has also played a central role in initiatives to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey. The Swiss Foreign Ministry led the international mediation efforts between 2007 and 2010, culminating in the Armenia-Turkey Protocols of 2009.

Carnegie hosted a discussion with Angelo Gnädinger and Michael Ambühl on mediation efforts in the South Caucasus, the Armenia-Turkey talks, and other protracted disputes in the Black Sea region. Carnegie’s James Collins moderated.

Angelo Gnädinger

Angelo Gnädinger is the special representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office for the South Caucasus, 2014–2015.

Michael Ambühl

Michael Ambühl is a professor of negotiation and conflict management at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich. He formerly served as the state secretary for foreign affairs in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, where he negotiated the Armenia-Turkey protocols of 2009.

James F. Collins

James F. Collins is a senior associate and diplomat in residence at Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program. He was the U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation from 1997 to 2001, and is an expert on the former Soviet Union, its successor states, and the Middle East.