MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. Europe is looking for a role in potential Ukraine peace talks, as Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic resigns ahead of a snap parliamentary election. Meanwhile, Switzerland holds a referendum on a stricter interpretation of its neutrality. These stories topped Monday's newspaper headlines across Russia.

Following lengthy discussions, European countries finally decided to seek direct contacts with Russia. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul. However, the Europeans’ stance, as expected, has not changed, with concessions still being sought from Moscow. The German Embassy told Izvestia that Europe should have a seat at the negotiating table on a Ukrainian settlement. The Vatican too has intensified its efforts as papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi arrives in Moscow on a three-day visit on September 28. Meanwhile, the United States hopes to reach an agreement on Ukraine before winter. President Vladimir Putin noted that peace proposals are "on the table" but that Russia will reconsider them after Kiev's attacks during the State Duma elections.

European countries need a role in Ukraine talks to maintain their influence on Kiev, Natalya Yeryomina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, argued. However, there is no unified position regarding support to Ukraine inside the EU, with the idea of halting support for the Ukrainian army starting to prevail not only in Bulgaria and Slovakia but also in the two EU powerhouses, Germany and France.

There is still a possibility to return to the implementation of the Anchorage agreements, political analyst Denis Denisov noted in an interview with Izvestia. The political part of negotiations could begin after Ukraine withdraws its troops from where they stand, something Moscow insists on. In the meantime, Russia has continued to liberate Donbass by military means. Control over Dobropolye is crucial for the complete liberation of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The Russian Armed Forces continue to destroy Ukrainian units encircled in the city, as news came on September 27 that 94 more buildings had been cleared of Ukrainian troops.

The prospects of transitioning to a peaceful settlement are hindered by the fact that European countries, which have been Ukraine's main sponsors, do not demonstrate any intention to enter substantive negotiations, taking Russia’s interests into account. They are seeking to prolong the conflict in the hope of the Republican Party losing in the midterm elections to the US Congress in November. Washington needs at least some progress on the Ukrainian track. However, it will be too difficult for the Trump administration to achieve that without putting real pressure on its European partners and Kiev.

On Sunday evening, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the leader of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), announced his early resignation. He is leaving his position almost a month ahead of a snap parliamentary election scheduled for October 25. If his SNS wins the vote, Vucic may become Serbian prime minister.

In line with its Constitution, Serbia must hold an early presidential election within 90 days after the resignation, that is no later than December 26. Ana Brnabic, an SNS member, will serve as acting president until that date.

On September 26, Vucic spoke by phone with President Vladimir Putin as he discussed extending the gas agreement and the situation around NIS with the Russian leader, according to official reports. The Serbian energy company has been under US sanctions because of ownership by Russian firms, with temporary sanctions waivers being granted periodically.

Vucic will lead United Serbia, a pro-government alliance with small centrist and left-wing parties. Opinion polls in Serbia have so far yielded mixed results: a survey conducted by Faktor Plus between September 16 and 20 showed that the Vucic-led bloc may garner 48.6% of the vote, while a student-led movement, Students Win, may receive 37.1%.

Serbian society is extremely fragmented, with the forces of the ruling coalition and the opposition being roughly equal, Polina Sokolova, research fellow at the Department for European Political Studies of IMEMO RAS, told Vedomosti. Vucic’s bloc could potentially win half of the vote before he calmly leads the Cabinet, after which his alliance would nominate its presidential candidate. However, the situation in Serbia remains unpredictable, the expert continued: "Large-scale nationwide anti-government protests will highly likely continue following the [election] campaign."

Sokolova does not expect the election outcome to lead to any major tweaks in Belgrade’s foreign policy course. Serbia’s foreign policy is not what is driving the split in society as there are supporters of both a rapprochement with the West and the push for deeper cooperation with Russia in the current government, the expert noted. "The opposition shares a similar sentiment.

Certain moves in foreign policy by the Serbian government will depend not on the results of the vote but on the international situation. Belgrade has of late intensified contacts with the EU and the US across multiple fields, so the Serbs adopting an anti-Russian stance under Western pressure further down the road cannot be excluded," Sokolova concluded.

On September 27, Switzerland held a referendum on whether a stricter interpretation of the country’s neutrality in foreign policy, which has been in place since the 19th century, should be enshrined. The results of the vote released on the website of Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) showed that 31.35% of voters supported the Safeguard Swiss neutrality initiative, while 68.65% voted against it. Therefore, the initiative put forward by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), a member of the government, was rejected.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on September 14 that, as Moscow views it, "little remains of Swiss neutrality as we knew it." The actions taken by the Swiss government are essentially transforming the country into "an associated member" of NATO, he added.

The referendum was not a vote on whether the country should maintain or abandon neutrality, Georgy Kutyrev, an associate professor at the Russian National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Vedomosti. Rather, the issue of how neutrality should be enshrined in Switzerland’s Constitution and the degree of freedom in foreign policy the Federal Council (the supreme executive body) should retain was put to vote. The Swiss maintained their neutrality but refused to turn it into a rigid foreign-policy doctrine that would limit the country’s room to maneuver in future crises, Kutyrev emphasized.

Sergey Glandin, a partner at BGP Litigation, noted that in international law neutrality entails not only refraining from entering armed conflicts or participating in military blocs but also treating warring third parties equally, something that de facto has not been the case amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Switzerland joining the sanctions imposed by the EU, which openly backs Ukraine, constitutes an indirect violation of neutrality. According to Glandin, the party which initiated the referendum sought to address exactly this gap.

Switzerland actually began moving away from neutrality in its policy a couple of decades ago, Alexander Kamkin, an associate professor at the Financial University under the Russian government, argued. For example, earlier, the Swiss agreed to dismantle absolute banking secrecy in a number of cases under pressure from the American side. In addition, the idea that it would be more advantageous for the Swiss in economic terms to support the EU and avoid scenarios that could lead to secondary sanctions, say, from the United States is being impressed upon them. The referendum was held under pressure on public opinion from transnational media outlets that campaigned against strict neutrality, Kamkin believes.

Kiev has continued to attempt large-scale strikes on Russian infrastructure facilities and industrial sites, and Moscow will respond in kind in order to cripple the enemy’s defense capabilities. The European Union, which has already pledged funds for the production of drones and missiles to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky for attacks on Russia in January-March 2027, will contribute to the escalation.

Ukraine has lately sought to carry out long-range strikes on Russia. Also, Kiev is planning to launch long-range drones and missiles, including using funds being provided for these purposes by the EU. Zelensky has again asked his European partners to give Ukraine $27 billion for the production of missiles and drones. Unless Ukraine places orders and pays for drones in the next two months, it will face "major challenges in January and February," he explained.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has reportedly agreed to meet Zelensky’s request and speed up a $90 billion EU loan for the production of missiles and drones in 2026 and 2027, including a $60 billion allocation earmarked as military support.

"It is not yet clear exactly how much money Kiev will receive from the EU for the production and procurement of drones and missiles. But it will essentially get $7 billion for military purposes for the first three months of 2027, because the sum was approved by the European Commission," military expert Vladimir Popov told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "This money will suffice to buy around 35,000 Liutyi-type long-range drones, meaning the Ukrainian army could use some 400 such drones daily. This is in addition to Kiev’s own funding for drone production and the $2.68 billion in military support, including missiles and drones, to the Ukrainian army pledged by the US State Department," he explained. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defense needs are growing year by year, while the deficit in its defense budget is simultaneously widening, the expert noted. According to media reports, Kiev’s projected military needs for 2027 will exceed the expenditures planned in the current budget by $75 billion.

Japan has promised to Russia that it will remove the Typhon complexes after holding its joint exercises with the United States and Australia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told Izvestia. However, Moscow does not trust Tokyo’s assurances, as the American systems may remain on Japanese soil after the maneuvers, putting a number of Russian cities at risk. In this event, Russia will draw up retaliatory measures, including in military planning, if any, the diplomat warned.

Moscow could respond to the increased military presence of the US and Japan with additional deployments in Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to strengthen the Russian border, Alexey Maslov, director of Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African Studies, told Izvestia. According to him, tensions have intensified in the Asia-Pacific in recent months, as he referred to not only the growing military build-up in Japan and the expanded US presence but also the Taiwan factor as potential drivers of escalation. At that, Russia has already deployed a powerful air defense system in the region, therefore the need for any additional deployments would require a separate assessment by the military, the expert noted. However, Moscow has not yet announced any new deployments.

As for the US, it is increasing its military posture in the Asia-Pacific with the phased deployment of missile complexes there. Therefore, it is too early to discuss a permanent American missile presence in Japan, Dmitry Streltsov, head of the MGIMO’s Oriental Studies Department, argued. However, Tokyo’s intentions regarding this issue remain vague. Moscow views the deployment of such systems as a risk factor, as those could potentially be used against Russia, the expert noted. However, Japan’s key potential enemy in the region is China, Streltsov said. And yet, the latest deployment remains part of Japan’s joint military training with the US and Australia, while it represents a new risk factor in the Far East for Russia.

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