MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. Russia was surprised by the Swiss Foreign Ministry's comments about looking for potential negotiation avenues for a Ukraine deal after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the margins of the UN Security Council open debate, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sputnik Radio.

"When it comes to Western representatives, we have different assessments of this meeting, as usual. I was surprised to find comments by the Swiss MFA suggesting that they are searching for ways to lay out some kind of negotiation process regarding Ukraine," the diplomat said.

Zakharova stressed that Russia had taken note of Bern's shift away from neutrality, meaning not getting involved in conflicts. She pointed out that Russia is aware that Switzerland does this under pressure and influence from "its senior Western masters."

"We can see that Switzerland has lost its equidistance from the parties' positions, which is to its own detriment, I believe, since this reputation is not easily salvaged. It can be done neither by some kind of manipulation in the media, nor in political and even diplomatic spheres," the Russian spokeswoman said. "At this point, we still cannot say whether the restoration of their reputation is even planned. Either way, we have taken note of it."

Zakharova also mentioned that in the course of the meeting Lavrov reiterated Russia's position on the Ukraine crisis and its roots.

The Russian MFA previously reported that the Russian Foreign Minister met with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis in New York to discuss "a number of practical issues" related to Switzerland's role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.