MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. Kiev and Western countries are disrupting efforts to resolve the situation in Ukraine by political and diplomatic means, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with Swiss President Ignazio Cassis on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week.

"During the discussion of the situation in Ukraine in the context of Russia’s special military operation, Sergey Lavrov outlined the principled approaches of the Russian side. The dangerous nature of the policy of the Kiev regime and Western countries to escalate and prolong the crisis and disrupt efforts to resolve it politically and diplomatically was emphasized," the report said.

At the meeting, the Russian side also stated that Switzerland has departed from the principle of neutrality, joining the EU anti-Russian sanctions and pursuing an unfriendly line towards Russia. "Moscow appealed to Bern to return to the policy of a neutral state, which previously earned the Confederation recognition in the international arena," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.

Lavrov and Cassis also discussed a number of practical issues on the bilateral and global agenda in view of Switzerland's election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2023-2024.