Excellences,
Mesdames et Messieurs,

Je suis très heureux d'être avec vous ici, à Paris, dans un endroit sûr, éclairé et chaleureux.
Ce n’est pas le cas à 2'400 kilomètres d’ici – à une journée de route en voiture.

I am delighted to be with you here in Paris, in a safe, well-lit and warm environment.
2,400 kilometres away from here – just a day's drive – the situation is very different.

With the return of war on our doorstep, we face the harsh reality that the ideal of a peaceful and democratic world was an illusion, even in Europe, where we thought that war could never happen again, following the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The fact is, that we were wrong. And that is why we are here today.

Je tiens à remercier la France pour cette conférence de Paris, utile à deux titres.
I would like to thank France for convening this conference in Paris, which will help on two levels:
- it will allow us to continue the recovery work initiated in Lugano and Berlin; and
- bring us together in supporting Ukraine as it faces its current emergency: the winter cold.

Thank you very much Mr President Macron for your commitment to peace and to the people of Ukraine.
I would also like to thank you Mr President Zelensky and you, Mr Prime Minister Shmyhal, for the exemplary resolve you have shown in the face of great adversity.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I travelled to Kyiv at the end of October and saw the damage inflicted by missiles and drones. I also saw first-hand the magnitude of humanitarian need among the brave people living in the city.

And the situation has deteriorated since then.
As President Zelenskyy has told us, Ukraine is in a desperate situation, with Russia attacking its energy civil infrastructure in the midst of winter. This has created a terrible humanitarian crisis for the Ukrainian people.

I wish to reiterate here that Russia's attacks on civilians and infrastructure constitute severe violations of international humanitarian law.
Switzerland strongly condemns these attacks.
Once again, I call on Russia to comply with its international obligations.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I learned 3 things from my trip to Kyiv.
Firstly, Ukraine requires immediate emergency assistance to get through the winter.

Based on a proposal of my government, the Swiss Parliament approved a CHF 100 million emergency humanitarian aid package last week. This package is targeted towards helping Ukraine tackle the challenges it faces this winter. The credit will be disbursed immediately.

And from next year, Switzerland will invest in the rehabilitation of power plants as well as healthcare and sanitation facilities.

Switzerland will also focus its efforts on promoting the rule of law, strengthening democratic institutions and seeking redress for the violations committed against the people in Ukraine.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The second thing I learned from my trip to Kyiv was that clarity is still needed.
In Berlin, we realised that we still needed to clarify various aspects of the recovery process.
I am pleased to note that discussions have progressed since then, based on the principles adopted in the Lugano Declaration.

Allow me therefore to welcome the declaration of the G7 leaders adopted yesterday announcing the establishment of a donor coordination platform.

We must step up efforts to fine-tune the organisational and governance aspects. We could do this on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos or at the next meeting of the European Political Community in Chişinău. You can be confident that the recovery of Ukraine is of utmost importance to Switzerland.

J’en arrive enfin à ma troisième certitude :
La confiance ne s’achète pas !

Elle se gagne sur le terrain grâce à nos projets communs, et par la mise en œuvre de réformes concrètes et ambitieuses.

Trust must be earned!
Trust can be won on the ground by undertaking joint projects and implementing genuine and ambitious reforms.

Trust is crucial to securing political and public support for the recovery process in Ukraine.

Let me make it clear: it is essential that we adopt a structured approach to recovery that builds on lessons learned from the past and is backed up by sound data.

As stated last July in the Lugano Declaration, the Ukrainian people should take the lead and communicate their needs in the 5 priority areas identified at the conference: water, energy, food security, healthcare and transport.

Ladies and gentlemen,
We are here because all our futures are at stake. Our future depends on our ability to:
-   restore peace in Europe;
-   defend freedom and the right of peoples to live in a just international order; and
-   ensure that Ukraine and its people overcome this crisis and return to normal life.
At today's conference, I therefore expect us to muster all necessary means and resources to help Ukrainians get through the crisis and beyond that, to bring them hope.

Cet espoir dépend de nous, ici et maintenant.
And that hope depends on what we do right here and now.

Thank you.

Paris International Conference in Support of Ukraine - Ansprache (fr/eng)