Press Release [*]

in three languages :

Portuguese, English, and French

COMUNICADO DE IMPRENSA

É já no próximo sábado, dia 22 de Novembro, que decorrerá em Lisboa a Conferência Europeia e Cidadã pela Paz na Ucrânia, Rússia e Europa — um evento “de cidadãos, organizado por cidadãos, para cidadãos” que conta com inúmeros convidados de renome, nacionais e internacionais que, entre as 9h30 e as 19h, se vão reunir num Auditório em Lisboa.

Um grupo de cidadãos portugueses comuns, que se auto intitula como “Os Quatro Mosqueteiros” organizou o Programa deste encontro que visa apresentar e discutir medidas, receber e debater propostas para a construção de uma Paz duradoura na Ucrânia, na Rússia e na Europa que, nunca tanto como agora, esteve à beira de uma Guerra mundial.

Uma das muitas propostas dos promotores da conferência é a da constituição de uma “Comissão de Verdade e Reconciliação”, à semelhança do que foi feito na África do Sul do pós-apartheid e em Timor-Leste depois da independência. Esta comissão independente poderia começar a fazer o seu trabalho imediatamente após a assinatura de um Acordo de Paz, ouvindo as queixas (de todos os lados) de violação dos direitos humanos desde 2014 — independentemente dos processos de investigação forense conducentes aos julgamentos dos crimes de guerra, que serão necessariamente muito morosos.

Outros temas que vão estar sobre a mesa e que poderão ser objecto de propostas serão referentes, por exemplo, a julgamentos por crimes de guerra; neutralidade militar permanente da Ucrânia;  proibição do fabrico, trânsito e posicionamento de armas nucleares e de bases militares e o fim de todas as sanções.

Mais de uma dezena de oradores, de várias nacionalidades e grupos profissionais, dão ainda mais peso e maior importância a esta iniciativa imperdível, que conta já com um amplo apoio internacional e dos Média. Além dos especialistas portugueses, alguns deles conhecidos, estarão outros nomes sonantes da Alemanha, França, Suécia, Bélgica, Reino Unido, Noruega, Suíça e Irlanda, vindos propositadamente para este debate.

Professores do ensino superior (universitário e politécnico), politólogos, oficiais das Forças Armadas, conselheiros de estratégia internacional, diplomatas, médicos, jornalistas, linguistas, escritores de não ficção, investigadores, historiadores, artistas (incluindo músicos, poetas e encenadores) são alguns dos profissionais que fazem parte da panóplia de um qualificado elenco de palestrantes, com ideias que vale mesmo a pena ouvir.

Aos interessados em assistir a esta Conferência, basta-lhes enviar a sua inscrição para:

u8189072106@gmail.com

com indicação do nome, profissão, email, e modo como tiveram conhecimento do evento, estando condicionado o acesso à lotação da sala. Receberão de volta a confirmação ou não do seu pedido de inscrição.

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[*] Este press release [comunicado de imprensa] foi redigido, graciosamente,  por uma jornalista profissional (a quem agradecemos a disponibilidade e a generosidade) a pedido da Comissão Organizadora da Conferência. Por razões de segurança, editámos, aqui, muito ligeiramente, o original que foi distribuído aos orgãos mediáticos de comunicação social. Abaixo, estão publicadas a sua tradução inglesa e francesa. 

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Press Release

 

The European and Citizens’ Conference for Peace in Ukraine, Russia, and Europe will be held in Lisbon on Saturday, November 22. This event, “by citizens, organized by citizens, for citizens,” will convene distinguished national and international guests from 9:30 am to 7 pm at an auditorium in Lisbon.

A group of Portuguese citizens, known as The Four Musketeers, has curated the program, which is designed to present, discuss, and evaluate measures and proposals aimed at building lasting peace in Ukraine, Russia, and Europe. The urgency of this issue is underscored by the current proximity to global conflict.

Among the initiatives proposed by the conference organizers is the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, modelled after those implemented in post-apartheid South Africa and in East Timor following independence. This independent body would begin its work immediately upon the signing of a peace agreement, considering reports of human rights violations by all parties since 2014, independently of any ongoing forensic investigations related to war crimes trials, which are anticipated to be protracted.

Additional topics open for discussion include War Crimes Trials, Ukraine’s status as a permanently neutral state, the prohibition of the manufacture, transit, and deployment of nuclear weapons, military bases, and the termination of all sanctions.

The conference features more than a dozen speakers representing a broad range of nationalities and professions, adding significant depth and credibility to the initiative, which has already garnered substantial international and media support. Participants include prominent experts from Portugal, as well as invited guests from Germany, France, Sweden, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, and Ireland.

The roster of speakers encompasses university professors, political scientists, military officers, international strategy advisors, diplomats, physicians, journalists, linguists, non-fiction authors, researchers, historians, and artists—including musicians, poets, and directors — offering a comprehensive array of expertise and perspectives.

Those wishing to attend the Conference are invited to register by emailing:

u8189072106@gmail.com

Please include your name, profession, email address, and how you learned about the event. Admission will be subject to venue capacity, and confirmation of registration will be provided upon review.

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[*] This press release was prepared by a professional journalist (whose availability and generosity are greatly appreciated) at the request of the Conference Organizing Committee. For security reasons, minor edits have been made to the original version circulated to the media.

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Communiqué de presse

 

La Conférence européenne et citoyenne pour la paix en Ukraine, en Russie et en Europe se tiendra à Lisbonne le samedi 22 novembre 2025. Cet événement, « organisé par des citoyens, pour les citoyens », réunira des invités nationaux et internationaux de 9h30 à 19h dans un auditorium à Lisbonne.

Un groupe de citoyens portugais, désigné sous l’appellation Les Quatre Mousquetaires, a conçu ce programme dans le but de présenter, débattre et évaluer des mesures et propositions pour instaurer une paix durable en Ukraine, en Russie et en Europe. L’urgence du sujet est accentuée par l’escalade actuelle des tensions mondiales.

Parmi les initiatives proposées figure la création d’une Commission indépendante de vérité et réconciliation, s’inspirant notamment des modèles appliqués en Afrique du Sud postapartheid et au Timor oriental après l’indépendance. Cette commission débuterait ses travaux dès la signature d’un accord de paix et procéderait à l’examen des signalements de violations des droits humains impliquant toutes les parties depuis 2014, indépendamment des investigations médico-légales liées aux procès pour crimes de guerre dont la durée serait prolongée.

Les discussions porteront également sur les procédures judiciaires relatives aux crimes de guerre, le statut de l’Ukraine en tant qu’État neutre permanent, ainsi que sur l’interdiction de la fabrication, du transit et du déploiement d’armes nucléaires et de bases militaires, et la levée des sanctions.

La conférence accueillera plus d’une douzaine d’intervenants issus de diverses nationalités et domaines professionnels, apportant une expertise reconnue à cette initiative soutenue à l’échelle internationale et relayée par plusieurs médias. Parmi les intervenants figurent des spécialistes du Portugal, ainsi que des invités originaires d’Allemagne, de France, de Suède, de Belgique, du Royaume-Uni, de Norvège, de Suisse et d’Irlande.

La liste des promoteurs et d’intervenants comprend des universitaires, politologues, officiers militaires, conseillers en stratégie internationale, diplomates, médecins, journalistes, linguistes, auteurs, chercheurs, historiens et artistes — dont des musiciens, poètes et réalisateurs — garantissant la représentativité et la diversité des points de vue.

Pour participer à la conférence, il est demandé de s’inscrire par courrier électronique à l’adresse suivante :

u8189072106@gmail.com

Veuillez indiquer votre nom, profession, adresse e-mail et préciser comment vous avez été informé de l’événement. L’admission dépendra de la capacité d’accueil du lieu et une confirmation d’inscription sera envoyée après examen.

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[*] Ce communiqué de presse a été rédigé par une journaliste professionnelle (dont la disponibilité et la générosité sont grandement appréciées) à la demande du Comité d’Organisation de la Conférence. Pour des raisons de sécurité, quelques ajustements mineurs ont été apportés à la version originale transmise aux médias

 

The European and Citizens’ Conference for Peace: Key Messages (2) 

Introduction

Professor Jean Bricmont is among the 62 founding signatories who initiated the call for the European and Citizens’ Conference for Peace in Ukraine, Russia and Europe. This event is scheduled to be held on 22 November 2025 in Lisbon and aims to address pressing issues concerning peace and conflict in the region.

Messages to Conference Participants and Readers

Although Jean Bricmont is unable to attend the conference in person, he remains committed to the cause and the objectives of the gathering. To ensure his thoughts and perspectives contribute to the ongoing discussions, he has sent a written statement to the participants. His text ⎼ as well as those by Pascal Lottaz and Robert Skidelsky, already published on this site [see https://citizenpeaceineurope2025.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-european-and-citizens-conference.html] ⎼ serves as his active contribution, providing insight and fostering dialogue among attendees and readers.

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IS WORLD WAR III

ALREADY GOING ON?

Jean Bricmont

15 November 2025

When did World War II start?

If you ask the Chinese, they will say in 1937, with the Japanese invasion or even in 1931 with the annexation of Manchuria. But in Europe? In 1936 in Spain, in 1938 with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland, in 1939 in Poland, in 1940 with the German invasion of the rest of Europe or in 1941 with the onslaught against the Soviet Union that led to the final defeat of the Nazis?

The beginning of World War II was an ongoing process. But one may argue that we are facing a similar process now, which may later be considered as being the beginning of World War III.

We have three major actors in this proto-war: the United States and its “allies” (its satellites would be a better term), Russia-China and its allies and Israel.

The US “allies” include most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Latin America (Argentina, Equator etc.). The Russia-China allies include Iran, North Korea, Vietnam, parts of Africa (mostly the Alliance of Sahel States: Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso), and parts of Latin America (mostly Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua).

The goal of the United States is to maintain its world domination which it thought would be eternal, or at least very long, after the fall of the USSR. The Russia-China alliance challenges that hegemony both militarily in Ukraine, where Russia was dragged into a long war by US provocations, and economically by China who is slowly but surely becoming the dominant economic superpower.

Europe and the other United States “allies” are simply going along with whatever the United States does, totally disregarding  their own national interests: they apply endless sanctions to Russia that mostly hurt their own economies and lecture China on human rights, lectures that fall on deaf ears (understandably so, given the long colonial relations between Europe and China). When the Netherlands thought it was clever to seize a Chinese company (the chipmaker company Nexperia), at the instigation of the United States, it had quickly to backtrack and to give it back to China. For the first time, after a mere five centuries, it is a country of the South that imposes its will on one of the North.

It is remarkable that, although most Europeans do not like Trump, because of his manners and his rather explicit way to want to impose the United States will on the rest of the world (including on Europe), not much has changed in their submissiveness with respect to the United States since his election.

The Russia-China alliance tries to gather the Global South against the hegemon, with some degree of success; in fact countries of the Global South do not necessarily like the present-day Russia but see it as the successor of the USSR and, whatever they think of the political-economic system of that country, they remember the firm Soviet support for decolonization and the national sovereignty of countries attacked by the United States [1]. It is somewhat ironical that, while the Russian leadership tend to reject its Soviet past, it is largely thanks to that past that it maintains its influence abroad. As for China, it may be less revolutionary and less vocal than at the time of Mao, but its diplomacy has always been firmly on the side of the Third World and against American supremacy.

There is a third actor: Israel. Contrary to what many people believe Israel is not an outpost of the West or even of the United States in the Middle East. It does exactly what it wants, namely make Palestine a “land without a people”, in order to “redeem” it for its own population. For that, it needs to regularly bomb, invade and kill people all around the Middle East. That serves no purpose whatsoever for American hegemony, never brought a drop of oil to the United States and in fact creates a lot of hostility worldwide towards the United States because of the latter unflinching support for Israeli policies. And the way this support is obtained is simply through the actions of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States (and elsewhere in the West). Congress is essentially bought by it and dissident voices are silenced under the accusation of antisemitism.

So, what is the situation now in the multi-front proto-war?

In Ukraine, Russia is winning slowly but probably irreversibly. This creates great concerns in Natoland, whose countries however do not dare send their armies fight the Russians directly and, instead, send loads of weapons and money that, so far, have been strategically useless, although they led many Ukrainians (and Russians in lesser numbers) to their death.

In the China-US conflict, there are a great deal of American gestures about Taiwan and the South China sea but, so far, nothing dramatic happened. China is very patient and expects that Taiwan will eventually become effectively (and not only legally, which it is already) part of China. Just wait and see.

Israel has won some victories, against Hamas and Hezbollah but, given the relationship of forces, the mere survival of these organizations (and they did survive) is already a victory for them. The biggest Israeli victory has been the regime change in Syria. As with all the submissive Arab regimes, it remains to be seen how long this submission will last.

The main problem for Israel is the revulsion that its policies have provoked throughout the world, even in its main benefactor, the United States. There, not only the progressive youth is revolting against zionism, as shown by the election of Mamdani as mayor of New York, but there is also a split in the MAGA movement with people like Tucker Carlson (or more radical ones like Nick Fuentes and Candace Owens) insisting that MAGA means America First and not MIGA or Israel First. That double revolt, from the left and from the right, does not bode well for the future of the United States support for their "only ally in the Middle East", which, in reality, isn’t their ally at all.

In fact, the main purpose of the present cease-fire (which is mainly interpreted by the Israelis as “you cease, we fire”), together with massive efforts at censorship (extensive buying of US media by pro-Israel billionaires) is to prevent anti-Israel sentiments from rising even further.

What should the anti-war movement do?

It depends a little bit on where one lives, but for Europeans it is quite clear:

― First of all, be as independent as possible from the United States, irrespective of whether its administration is democrat or republican. And that means being as independent as possible from the European Union, whose bureaucratic apparatus is committed to an endless subservience to the United States. The goal would be to develop relations with the rest of the world based on our own interests and not on those of the United States.

 ― Concerning the Middle East, cut all ties with Israel, and defend our freedom of speech about that state and its supporters here. In particular, we should reject the legal condemnation of “hate speech” as another word for censorship.

Unfortunately, our leaders are very far from following that course and they hardly face any organized political opposition. What we see is an incessant deluge of war propaganda against Russia, China, Iran or Palestine. We are even told that we must engage in a massive military buildup in order be ready for war with Russia in a few years. 

But why? Are we seriously thinking of attacking Russia and risk our own nuclear annihilation? Do we really fear an attack of Russia against a NATO country? But why would they do that? Unlike in Ukraine, there is no NATO country with millions of people fighting for several years against a central government originating from a coup d'état, sponsored by the United States, and deeply hostile to them. Indeed, as shown in part by their pro-2014 votes, the Eastern Ukrainians have always felt Russian and were incorporated into Ukraine at the time of the formation of the Soviet Union (1922), without anybody asking them what they wanted. Whether one thinks that this justifies the Russian intervention or not, the fact is that there is no remotely similar situation elsewhere in Europe.

There is also no doubt that the European populations (as opposed to most of their leaders) are massively opposed to the notion of a war with Russia. But even if there is no real reason for a war between NATO and Russia to occur, the combination of military buildup and war propaganda may lead to an accident, like what happened in Sarajevo in 1914.

― And therefore, it is vital to change course if we do not want the present situation as being viewed in the history books of the future as the beginning of World War III. Assuming that there will be such books.

 On August 9, 1945, the American B-29 bomber, Bocks Car, left Tinian carrying Fat Man, a plutonium implosion-type bomb. The primary target was the Kokura Arsenal at Nagasaki, but upon reaching the target, they found that it was covered by a heavy ground haze and smoke, pilot Charles Sweeney turned to the secondary target of the Mitsubishi Torpedo Plant at Nagasaki. Of the 286,00 people living in Nagasaki at the time of the blast, 74,000 were killed and another 75,000 sustained severe injuries. Source: National Archives USA. [Photo and caption added by the Editor of this Conference site]

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Note

[1] See for example htps://www.rosbalt.ru/news/2025-11-07/gleb-kuznetsov-rf-nikak-ne-mozhet-prisvoit-sovetskoe-nasledie-5503301

Programa da 

 Conferência Europeia e Cidadã

para a Paz na Ucrânia, Rússia e Europa

Lisboa, 22 de Novembro de 2025

A) Programa e ordem de trabalhos

Ponto 1. Boas-vindas e agradecimentos: José Catarino Soares (Portugal). Das 9h30 às 9h40 (+ 5 minutos para a entidade responsável pelo local da Conferência poder usar da palavra).

Ponto 2. Alocução de abertura: Luís Alfaro Cardoso (Portugal). Das 9h45 às 10h.

Ponto 3. Testemunhos da guerra e da vida quotidiana na Donbass. Das 10h às 12h30, com uma pausa para café às 11h15.

Cinco oradores: Guy Mettan (Suíça), Christelle Néant (França), Benoît Paré (França), Jean-Christophe Emmeneger (Suíça), Patrick Baab (Alemanha). Moderador: Luís M. Loureiro (Portugal).  

Almoço. 12h30-14h30.

Ponto 4. Narrativas e realidade da guerra na Ucrânia e na Rússia. Das 14h30 às 16h10, com uma pausa para café às 16h10.

Quatro oradores: Jacques Hogard (França), Alastair Renfrew (Inglaterra, Reino Unido), Geoffrey Roberts (Irlanda), Michel Collon (Bélgica). Moderador: José Catarino Soares (Portugal).

Ponto 5. Iniciativas de promoção da paz para a Ucrânia,  Rússia e Europa. Das 16h30 às 18h50.

Cinco oradores: Isabelle Casel (Alemanha), Hakan Julander (Suécia), Ian Proud (Inglaterra, Reino Unido), Robert Skidelsky (Inglaterra, Reino Unido), Carlos Branco (Portugal). Moderador: José Aranda da Silva (Portugal).

Ponto 6. Alocução de encerramento: Raul Luís Cunha (Portugal). Das 18h50-19h

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B) Intervenções dos oradores previstos

As intervenções dos oradores previstos para os pontos 3, 4 e 5 do programa da conferência têm a duração de 15 minutos, seguidos de 10 minutos para perguntas e respostas. Toda a conferência será videogravada, para divulgação ulterior.

C) Outras intervenções

A Comissão Organizadora da Conferência pediu a duas pessoas que preparassem intervenções que substituíssem as de oradores previstos que se vissem, à última hora, impossibilitados de participar na conferência. Agradecemos a esses nossos especiais convidados ⎼ Rui Pereira e Sófia Smirnov ⎼ a gentileza de terem aceitado o nosso convite e o esforço que fizeram para o satisfazer. O conteúdo das suas intervenções será publicado no sítiowww da Conferência, após a sua realização.

D)  Acesso à Conferência

O acesso à Conferência está exclusivamente reservado aos 62 subscritores iniciais da sua convocatória e aos seus convidados nominais.

Os interessados que, entretanto, desejarem subscrever o texto da convocatória (publicado neste blogue [ver arquivo do blogue]) podem fazê-lo enviando as seguintes informações:

·       Nome

·       Profissão (+ 2 ou 3 descritores no máximo)

·       Morada

·       Endereço electrónico 

·        para o seguinte endereço de e-mail: u8189072106@gmail.com

A morada e o endereço electrónico fornecidos para a subscrição do texto não serão divulgados, garantindo a confidencialidade dos dados pessoais dos participantes. As pessoas que, além dos signatários iniciais, vierem a subscrever a convocatória para a Conferência ficam automaticamente inscritas para nela participarem e receberão uma mensagem indicando-lhes o local onde ela vai ser realizada. 

Além e independentemente da subscrição do texto da convocatória, é possível manifestar interesse em participar na conferência, que será atendida se a lotação do recinto que acolhe a conferência o permitir. A inscrição para participar na conferência (NOME, PROFISSÃO, ENDEREÇO ELECTRÓNICO) deve ser enviada para o endereço electrónico já indicado mais acima: u8189072106@gmail.com 

A comissão organizadora da Conferência irá gerir as inscrições de acordo com a lotação disponível, para garantir o conforto e segurança de todos os participantes.

A Comissão Organizadora da Conferência (por ordem alfabética do apelido)

● Luís Alfaro Cardoso (investigador e professor do ensino superior universitário)

● Raul Luís Cunha (major-general do Exército português)

● José Aranda da Silva (coronel do Exército português)

● José Catarino Soares (professor coordenador do ensino superior politécnico)

 

The European and Citizens’ Conference for Peace: Key Messages (1) 

Introduction

Professor Pascal Lottaz and professor Robert Skidelsky have both endorsed the forthcoming European and Citizens' Conference for Peace in Ukraine, Russia and Europe, which is scheduled to take place in Lisbon on 22 November 2025.

Messages to Conference Participants and Readers

Both Lottaz and Skidelsky have shared important communications intended for all participants of the Conference—where Robert Skidelsky will address the audience as a speaker—as well as for readers of this blog.

Their message and speech, respectively, are disclosed below to inform and inspire those involved in the pursuit of peace across Europe, Ukraine and Russia.

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My short message to everyone is as follows:

«Europe is currently marching straight ahead into another general calamity, making enemies with Russia, China, and the entire Global South. Working toward peace and a change of the European narrative has never been more important than now. It is not too late to bring the continent back from the brink of the abyss, but we need action and we need it now. I congratulate everyone at this event for their active role and leadership in bringing about the narrative change to save us from ourselves»

Pascal Lottaz, November 4, 2025

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My speech in the House of Lords on Ukraine - 31st of October 

«My Lords, I do not know whether it is a punishment or a privilege to be put last in the list of Back-Bench speakers, as I invariably am when it comes to a debate on Ukraine. The noble Lord, Lord Coaker, was powerful and eloquent in opening, and it is clear that my noble friend Lord Barrow is going to be a great addition to our collective wisdom.

Two factors have upended the policy of successive British Governments: the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House, and the unexpected economic and military resilience of Russia. Until the end of last year, the agreed policy, as stated by then incoming Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, was that

“the British Government must leave the Kremlin with no doubt that it will support Kyiv for as long as it takes to achieve victory. Once Ukraine has prevailed, the United Kingdom should play a leading role in securing Ukraine’s place in NATO”.

I have heard this formula endlessly in the last three or four years. Can the noble Baroness tell us whether this is still the policy of the British Government? If not, why not? That policy, to my way of thinking, was always dishonest and in fact, morally repugnant, since we were never going to give Ukraine all it takes for victory, for the very good reason that any such policy carried an unacceptable risk of escalation. I am really worried by the insouciance of those noble Lords speaking today who talk about unleashing long-range missile attacks on the most heavily armed nuclear power in the world.

Now, after nearly four years of false pledges cashed in the lives of hundreds of thousands, we have reluctantly accepted that there is not going to be a Ukrainian Toggle showing location of victory anytime soon, and in fact, there is a very real prospect of Ukrainian defeat, as the noble Lord, Lord Tugendhat, pointed out. The real question now is, how can the coalition of the willing prevent this outcome? First came the suggestion that we would send in NATO peacekeepers to police a ceasefire, but our Government must have known that this would never be accepted. It would not be accepted by Russia and would not be accepted by the United States, which was supposed to provide a backstop. Can the noble Baroness tell us whether this obvious spoiling tactic is still on the table?

The latest plan is the so-called European Peace Facility, whose aim is to strengthen Ukraine’s war facility, a classic case of Orwellian “doublespeak”. The idea is that Europe should ramp up arms deliveries to Ukraine and put more pressure on Russia with new sanctions on oil exports, with loans coming from confiscated Russian assets. But no one thinking straight can believe that such measures, even if agreed and applied, will affect the course of the war in time to avert further territorial losses by Ukraine. In fact, a negotiated peace is the only way now of averting a Russian victory. That is my core position.

I want to be constructive, so I will suggest three ways in which our Government could help achieve a negotiated settlement. First, they should propose a demilitarised zone under a UN peacekeeping force to police a ceasefire. I am not nearly as pessimistic about the prospects of a ceasefire as some noble Lords have been—I remind the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, that the armed pause of the Cold War lasted 50 years. China must also be brought into such an endeavour. It can exert much more leverage over Russia than we can. Trump seems to realise this, but all we seem able to do is talk about Chinese spies and underground tunnels. China is the missing piece in this whole process.

Secondly, we should start talking to Russian officials. Do not leave all the talking to the United States. To get a conversation going, we have to ignore the ICC arrest warrants, which in any case could be enforced only by a complete Russian defeat. Thirdly, we should urge UN-organised referenda in the four contested oblasts to allow the people who live there to decide democratically on their own future. Holding such referenda would offer both sides a credible and democratic pathway to end the conflict. Through initiatives of this kind, our Government could still turn a war mission into a peace mission. I beg Ministers to discover the courage to negotiate, for reasons of both realism and humanity.»

Robert Skidelsky, 5 November 2025

 

A EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR PEACE 

IN UKRAINE, RUSSIA AND EUROPE

— of citizens, by citizens, for citizens

 

At the G7 summit on 17 June 2025, the President of the European Council, António Costa, presented Donald Trump, President of the United States, with a Cristiano Ronaldo football shirt, signed by the player himself, on which was printed the following appeal: ‘Play for peace. As a team’.

A fair appeal, but with the wrong messenger and recipient

Cristiano Ronaldo’ s appeal expresses a legitimate and urgent desire. But it has the wrong messenger (António Costa) and the wrong recipient: the G7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA) + the European Union (EU) as an extra-numerary participant.

The only team interested in playing for peace and capable of doing so with commitment and fairness is the one made up of the ordinary citizens who make up the peoples of these countries and other countries, including European countries that are not members of the European Union.

A task for citizens

It will therefore be up to us, ordinary citizens, to take the initiative and act to build lasting peace in Europe. (If we do so, governments will be forced to obey us or fall).

What can we do immediately to achieve this? We can call a European Conference for Peace in Ukraine, Russia and Europe.

With what wachtwords? This is the most sensitive point. To begin with, we propose the following:

● Formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission along the lines of those that have been so successful in post-apartheid South Africa and post-independence East Timor.

This independent commission could begin its work immediately after the signing of the Peace Agreement – hearing complaints (from all sides) of human rights violations since 2014 – independently of the forensic investigation processes leading to war crimes trials, which will necessarily be very lengthy.

● War crimes trials should be organised by the respective States, as suggested by the eminent jurist Alfred de Zayas: trials for alleged Russian war crimes by Russian courts; trials for alleged Ukrainian war crimes by Ukrainian courts.  

● Permanent military neutrality of Ukraine enshrined in its Constitution. Ukraine's renunciation of its goal of joining NATO, with the repeal of the articles of the Ukrainian Constitution that express this goal (Articles 85[5], 102, 116 [1]).

● Legal guarantees that Ukraine will not allow the manufacture, receipt, transit or deployment of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction on its territory.

● Legal guarantees that Ukraine and Russia will not allow the establishment of military bases or the presence of foreign military contingents on their respective territories.

● Recognition of the right to self-determination (Article 1(2), Article 55 and Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations; Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) in its various forms (regional autonomy, federalism, secession, voluntary integration into another country) for the population of Crimea and the populations of the eastern and southern oblasts of Ukraine who feel more Russian than Ukrainian and who have freely expressed their will through referendums.

● Legal guarantees for the protection of the Russian language as a co-official language of Ukraine and the cultural rights (including religious freedom) of Russian-speaking Ukrainians (52% of the Ukrainian population), as well as the cultural rights of Ukrainians who speak minority languages (e.g. Hungarian and Romanian).

● End of all sanctions ⎼ ban on media outlets (RT, Sputnik, etc.) broadcasting in the EU; visa and travel bans in the EU, Schengen area, UK and Ireland; asset freeze; economic import and export restrictions ⎼ a total of more than 10,279 sanctions (882 sanctions between 17 March 2014 and 22 February 2022, plus 9,237 from 22 February 2022 to 17 January 2025) imposed on Russia by Switzerland (3,226), the EU (2,482), France (2,423) and the UK (2,078).

These are the eight minimum measures necessary to achieve a lasting peace agreement in Ukraine and Russia.

To build lasting peace in Europe, it is necessary to outline and approve a European Cooperation and Security architecture that covers all European countries (including Russia) and scrupulously respects the principle of the indivisibility of international security: the notion that international security is interdependent — that is, there can be no security for some countries without security for others, or at the expense of the security of others.

This architecture should include the following confidence-building and development measures:

● Elimination of all US and Russian nuclear weapons (and all existing infrastructure for their use) outside their respective national territories — such as NATO air bases in Europe that house US nuclear warheads: Incirlik (Turkey); Aviano and Ghedi-Torre (Italy); Kleine Brogel (Belgium); Büchel (Germany), Volkel (Netherlands), as well as air bases housing nuclear warheads that Russia has positioned in Belarus under the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.

● Eradication of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Europe – by denunciation/withdrawal from its Treaty (provided for in Article 13) by its European member countries – either (i) by simultaneous denunciation by all of them, or (ii) by successive individual denunciation/withdrawal by its European member countries, or (iii) by concerted denunciation/ withdrawal of successive groups of its European member countries, or (iv) by a combination of (ii) and (iii), and Eradication (concurrent with the eradication of NATO from the European continent) of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Europe by denunciation/withdrawal from its Treaty (provided for in Article 11) by its European member countries — Russia, Belarus, Armenia (+ Serbia as an observer member). 

These measures, in turn, pave the way for the end of nuclear weapons, a necessary condition for preventing a nuclear apocalypse, which requires:

● the prohibition of designing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing or stockpiling nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, as provided for in Article 1 of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), approved by the UN General Assembly on 4 December 2017.

It should be noted that the TPNW has so far been signed by 93 countries, of which 70 have already ratified it. The countries that have ratified it are mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and are not nuclear powers. Of the 31 member countries of NATO (including the US, France and the UK, which possess nuclear weapons, and the 22 EU countries that are also members of NATO), none have signed and ratified the treaty. This clearly shows that this organisation is a nuclear alliance that is very jealously protective of its destructive power.

● The simultaneous and mutually controlled dismantling (by inspectors from all parties involved) of the nuclear arsenals of Russia, the US, France, the UK and other nuclear powers: China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

Number of nuclear warheads held by the nine nuclear powers in 2025. Source: SIPRI, 2025

 

The principle to be applied in this task is very simple and has already proven its worth: ‘Trust but verify.’ The task is colossal, but achievable, as demonstrated by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed between the Soviet Union (and later Russia, the successor state) and the US in 1987, also known as the INF Treaty (Intermediate Nuclear Forces), which lasted until 2019, when it was broken by the US.

The INF Treaty provided for the destruction of nuclear missiles with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometres within three years. And this was done successfully. In total, 2,692 missiles were destroyed before 1991 — that is, almost all the intermediate-range nuclear missiles and just over 4% of the total nuclear arsenal of both countries in 1987.  One of the innovations of the INF Treaty was the adoption of procedures for mutual verification of the destruction of nuclear weapons by inspectors from each country.

A real security system will not be established on Earth until, at the very least, nuclear disarmament treaties have been signed and ratified by all States that possess nuclear weapons, and nuclear weapons have been eradicated.

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Those wishing to sign this Call for a European Citizens' Conference for Peace in Ukraine, Russia and Europe are invited to contact u8189072106@gmail.com. Please indicate your name, country of origin, profession and email address. (Rest assured that your email address will remain confidential.)

They will be added to the list below, updated on 26 October 2025, which lists the first signatories of the Call.

The signatories, listed in alphabetical order by surname, represent a diversity of professions, nationalities and expertise, illustrating the plurality of citizens committed to promoting peace on the European continent.

List of signatories

·       Jorge Aires (Portugal): Major general (retd) of the Portuguese Air Force

·    José Baptista Alves (Portugal): Coronel (retd) of the Portuguese Air Force, April military [*]

·       João Sousa Andrade (Portugal): Economist, university professor, researcher

·       António Avelãs (Portugal): Secondary school teacher, trade union leader

·       Patrik Baab (Germany): Journalist, university professor, non-fiction writer

·       Manuel Begonha (Portugal): Captain of sea and war (retd) of the Portuguese Navy, April military

·       Carlos Branco (Portugal): Major general (retd) of the Portuguese Army, specialist in conflict resolution

·       Tony Brenton (United Kingdom): Diplomat, former ambassador of United Kingdom in Russia (2004-2008)

·      Jean Bricmont (Belgium): Theoretical physicist, philosopher, university professor, non-fiction writer

·      Jorge Costa Campos (Portugal): Journalist, documentary filmmaker, professor at polytechnic higher education

·       Luís Alfaro Cardoso (Portugal): Veterinarian, researcher, university professor

·       Isabelle Casel (Germany): Freelance artist, peace activist, advisor

·       José Cavalheiro (Portugal): Engineer, university professor, researcher

·       António Rocha Carrilho (Portugal): Vice-admiral (retd) of the Portuguese Navy

·       Rolf Christianson (Sweden): Art lecturer

·     Alain Corvez (France): Coronel (retd) of the French Army, international strategy adviser

·     Michel Collon (Belgium): Journalist, writer, founder of Investig’Action (website, video broadcasting channel, book publishing, research on disinformation)

·       Pedro de Pezarat Correia (Portugal): Major general (retd) of the Portuguese Army, April military

·       Raul Luís Cunha (Portugal): Major general (retd) of the Portuguese Army, historian, non-fiction writer

·       Glenn Diesen (Norway): Political scientist, university professor, non-fiction writer, videographer 

·     Hugo Dionísio (Portugal): lawyer, independent researcher

·   Jean-Christophe Emmeneger (Switzerland): former journalist, researcher specialising in the history of intelligence agencies, travel writer

·     Dom Januário Torgal Ferreira (Portugal): Bishop Emeritus of the Armed Forces and Security Forces of Portugal

·       Paulo Fidalgo (Portugal): Physician, gastroenterologist, non-fiction writer

·       Carlos Fino (Portugal): Journalist (reporter, international correspondent,

war correspondent), non-fiction writer

·       Mattias Forsgren (Sweden): Secondary school teacher, non-fiction writer

·      Júlio Manuel Dias Gomes (Portugal): Economist, university professor, non-fiction writer

·       Ulrike Guérot (Germany): Political philosopher, peace activist, university professor, non-fiction writer

·     Manuel Martins Guerreiro (Portugal): Rear admiral (retd) of the Portuguese Navy, April military

·    Jacques Hogard (France): Colonel (retd) of the French Army, historian, geopolitical consultant, non-fiction writer

·       Hakan Julander (Sweden): Actor, poet, podcaster

·       Cipriano Justo (Portugal): Physician, university professor, non-fiction writer

·       Mertz Laakso (Sweden): Entrepreneur, non-fiction writer

·       Luís M. Loureiro (Portugal): Journalist, university professor, non-fiction writer

·       Pascal Lottaz (Switzerland): Political scientist, university professor, videographer

·     António M. J. Rosado da Luz (Portugal): Colonel (retd) of the Portuguese Army, April military, economist

·     Seamus Martin (Ireland): Journalist, former Moscow correspondent for The Irish Times

·       Albino Matos (Portugal): Jurist, non-fiction writer

·       Alexander Mercouris (United Kingdom): Journalist, political analyst, videographer

·       Guy Mettan (Switzerland): Journalist, columnist, Member of Parliament, non-fiction writer

·       Matts Nilsson (Sweden): Jurist, non-fiction writer

·    José Manuel Costa Neves (Portugal): Major general (retd) of the Portuguese Air Force, April military

·       António José Avelãs Nunes (Portugal): Jurist, economist, university

professor, non-fiction writer

·       Rui Pereira (Portugal) : Journalist, university professor, non-fiction writer

·       Henrik Petersen (Sweden): Fiction writer

·    Ian Proud (United Kingdom): Diplomat, former economic adviser at the British Embassy in Moscow (2014–2019), non-fiction writer

·     Christopher Read (United Kingdom): Emeritus Professor of History

·      João Luís B. Pena dos Reis (Portugal):  Deputy Attorney General (retd) of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Portugal

·       Alastair Renfrew (United Kingdom): Philologist, historian, university professor

·     Craig Roberts (Wales, United Kingdom): conductor, creative, musical director of both Symphonic Brass Wales and Lewis-Merthyr Bands.

·       Geoffrey Roberts (Ireland): Historian, university professor

·       Fabrice Saint-Pol (France): Capitaine de corvette (Commander) [retd] in the reserve (Marine Nationale), Civil Engineer

·       Richard Sakwa (United Kingdom): Political scientist, historian, university professor

·   Michael Sergius von der Schulenburg (Germany): Member of the European Parliament, diplomat, non-fiction writer

·      José Aranda da Silva (Portugal): Colonel (retd) of Portuguese Army, April military, pharmacist, non-fiction writer

·      Robert Skidelsky (United Kingdom): Economist, historian, university professor, non-fiction writer, member of the House of Lords

·       José Catarino Soares (Portugal): Linguist, professor at polytechnic higher education, non-fiction writer

·       Henry Söderström (Sweden): Economist, non-fiction writer

·       Richard Turpin (Sweden): Stage director

·    Harald Walach (Germany): Psychologist, philosopher, university professor, non-fiction writer

·    Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (Switzerland): Jurist, philosopher, university professor, non-fiction writer

 

[*] The term “April military” is used formally to denote military officers who participated in the overthrow of the Salazar fascist regime on 25 April 1974.

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Conference programme

November 22, 2025. Lisbon

 

Item 1. Welcome and acknowledgements. José Catarino Soares (Portugal). 9.30am to 9.45am.

Item 2. Opening address. Luís Alfaro Cardoso (Portugal). 9.45am to 10am.

Item 3: Testimonies of war and daily life in Donbass.From 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m with a coffee break at 11.15 pm.

Five speakers: Guy Mettan (Switzerland), Christelle Néant (France) Benoît Paré (France), Jean-Christophe Emmeneger (Switzwerland), Patrick Baab (Germany). Moderator : Bruno de Carvalho (Portugal).

Lunch. 12.30-14.30 pm

Item 4: Narratives and reality of war in Ukraine and Russia. From 14.30 p.m. to 16.10 p.m with a coffee break at 16.10 pm.

Four speakers: Jacques Hogard (France), Michel Collon (Belgium), Alastair Renfrew  (England, UK). Geoffrey Roberts (Ireland). Moderator: José Catarino Soares (Portugal).

Item 5. Initiatives promoting peace in Ukraine, Russia and Europe. From 16.30pm to 18.50pm. 

Five speakers: Isabelle Casel (Germany), Hakan Julander  (Sweden), Robert Skidelsky (England, UK), Ian Proud (England, UK), Carlos Branco (Portugal). Moderator: José Aranda da Silva (Portugal).

Item 6. Closing address. Raul Luís Cunha (Portugal). 18.50pm-19pm