Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Business

The Unsung Heroine of Minsk Talks

Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini worked alongside Merkel, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, France’s Francois Hollande and Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko on the deal to stem the conflict that has devastated eastern Ukraine.

Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini worked alongside Merkel, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, France’s Francois Hollande and Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko on the deal to stem the conflict that has devastated eastern Ukraine.

Photographer: Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA
Helene Fouquet, Ilya Arkhipov and Daryna Krasnolutska

Just two women were at the table as the cease-fire between Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine and the government in Kiev was hammered out. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one. The other was Heidi Tagliavini.

The discreet, 65-year-old Swiss diplomat worked alongside Merkel, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, France’s Francois Hollande and Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko on the deal to stem the conflict that has devastated eastern Ukraine.