Switzerland does not yet plan to hold a second conference on Ukraine, but is preparing for ceasefire talks, the Swiss Foreign Ministry reported.
"Switzerland continues to maintain contacts with all interested parties. At the moment, the country does not plan to host a second peace conference. Now the main focus is on preparing for ceasefire talks, with the key factor being the US elections“, the diplomatic service said.
In turn, the Russian embassy in Bern said that Moscow was “ready for a meaningful and constructive dialogue with representatives of Switzerland, including on Ukraine“. “A recent example is the contacts between Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Swiss counterpart Ignatius Cassis, which took place on December 18. However, this does not mean that Russia views Switzerland as a potential mediator, especially if the confederation continues to follow an openly pro-Kiev course in the new year“, the diplomatic mission added.
Commenting on the prospect of the next conference on Ukraine in Switzerland, Russian diplomats stressed that attempts by Western countries to “force Russia to surrender through Kiev's “peace formula“ “will not change our approach”, since we are talking about the fundamental national interests of our country.
“Such attempts are doubly inappropriate now, when the Kiev regime clearly demonstrates to the whole world its terrorist nature, and its positions on the front are visibly deteriorating every day“, the Russian embassy in Bern emphasized.
On December 16, the newspaper Le Temps reported that the country is actively participating in the preparation of the next summit on Ukraine. As part of these efforts, it is assumed that there was interaction with Russia, as well as with the United States and other G-7 countries.
The conference on Ukraine was held on June 15-16 in Bürgenstock at the initiative of the Ukrainian side. The final communiqué of the forum was not signed by Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, the Vatican, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and South Africa. Russia was not invited. Delegations from most UN member states were also absent, and Moscow described the forum as a "complete fiasco".