Russia sees no chance of Swiss leading Ukraine peace process

27/3/2024 7:07

        Russia sees no chance of Switzerland leading efforts to secure peace in Ukraine, a senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday, after Bern said it planned to
        host a high-level Ukraine peace conference in the coming months.
        
        Swiss authorities have said that Russia is unlikely to take part, at least not at the outset of the talks.
        
        "As of now, we don't see any possibility that Switzerland would take the lead and organise something," said Gennady Gatilov, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
        
        Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, has said the Swiss initiative is doomed to fail without Moscow's participation.
        
        Gatilov said that while Moscow was not against negotiations to end the war, it would not take part in talks in Switzerland, a country he said had relinquished its neutrality with its stance on the conflict.