On July 27, 2025, Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council—the upper house of the Russian parliament—landed in Switzerland to participate in the World Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, despite being under international sanctions. The event, held from July 28 to 30 under the theme “A world in turmoil: parliamentary cooperation and multilateralism for peace, justice and prosperity for all”, is organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a platform comprising 181 national parliaments.
Switzerland temporarily lifts sanctions for Russian officials
Matviyenko and several members of her delegation are subject to sanctions imposed by numerous Western nations, including Switzerland itself. Nevertheless, Swiss authorities granted a one-time waiver to allow their attendance, arguing that as the summit host, they were obliged to welcome representatives of all IPU member states. One-time visas were issued, enabling entry despite the standing bans.
Further controversy surrounded the flight route taken by the Russian delegation. Their plane traveled through Italian airspace with full permission from Rome, even though Italian authorities were fully informed of the identities and purpose of the passengers on board.
Russia uses peace platform to spread war narratives
While the Geneva summit was intended as a forum for promoting global cooperation and peace, Matviyenko used the platform to repeat long-debunked Kremlin narratives. Instead of addressing ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul, she revived disinformation from the pre-invasion era, including false claims about an unconstitutional coup in Ukraine, the rise of “Nazis” to power in Kyiv, and alleged atrocities against civilians in Donbas—particularly children.
Western diplomats and observers widely condemned the speech, as the majority of policymakers have already dismissed such claims as unfounded and manipulative. The Ukrainian parliament reacted sharply, calling Matviyenko’s presence in Geneva a “mockery of justice” and a “diplomatic failure” by Switzerland.
Sanctioned propagandists given a public stage
Other members of the Russian delegation also face international sanctions. These include deputy Federation Council chairman Konstantin Kosachev, State Duma deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy, and head of the Duma’s international affairs committee Leonid Slutsky—all of whom have been sanctioned for fueling war and spreading Kremlin propaganda. Their temporary reintegration into European diplomatic space has been labeled by critics as a display of “cynical hypocrisy” and a signal of weakness.
Kremlin exploits Western leniency
Critics argue that by allowing sanctioned Russian officials to travel freely and speak at an international forum in the heart of Europe, Switzerland has unintentionally signaled diplomatic vulnerability. In the Kremlin’s eyes, observers note, such actions demonstrate the West’s lack of resolve. As repeatedly shown, Moscow respects only the language of strength. Attempts to re-engage Russia diplomatically without accountability are often interpreted as signs of weakness rather than goodwill.
Matviyenko, who played a central role in authorizing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has not only voted for the military intervention but also worked to secure unanimous parliamentary support for it. In 2023, she claimed to have sent reports to parliaments worldwide alleging the presence of dozens of secret Ukrainian biolabs developing biological weapons such as “combat mosquitoes and lice”—claims widely dismissed as pseudoscientific disinformation.
Despite the summit’s stated mission of fostering peace and justice, the inclusion of Kremlin-aligned voices under international sanctions raises pressing questions about the integrity of multilateral diplomacy and the balance between inclusivity and accountability.
