MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. It is impossible to resolve the Syrian crisis without Russia, the new Swiss Ambassador to Russia Yves Rossier said in an interview with TASS.
"Switzerland has always been actively participating in solving conflict situations in various parts of the world," he said. "Parties to conflicts willingly turn to Switzerland for assistance particularly because the Swiss carry out their missions discreetly and quietly and lay their cards on the table only after the work is done."
When speaking on the Syrian crisis, the Swiss diplomat noted that "first and foremost, Syria is a huge humanitarian issue for us, it is the biggest challenge that we have ever faced." "In this connection, we have definitely been cooperating with Moscow because as far as resolving the Syrian conflict is concerned, it is impossible to bypass Russia," Rossier stressed.
"Two platforms are being used to resolve the Syrian crisis, that is, the Geneva talks and the Astana meetings," he went on to say. "Initially, the two processes ran parallel with different stakeholders taking part in them. On the one hand, there was a political process while on the other hand, the armed opposition was participating in another process. So the situation was not promising. However, after the recent meetings in Astana and Geneva, a glimpse of hope has emerged that the two processes could be coordinated by defining a common goal."
According to the Swiss diplomat, participants in the talks "have succeeded in reaching some progress." "Although there is no full agreement yet, however, no one has said no to the process." "This means that we should carry on with the efforts being made under the United Nations auspices in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254," Rossier added. "In my opinion, Russia is playing a very important role in implementing these efforts," the Swiss ambassador said.