GENEVA, April 10. /TASS/. The Swiss-hosted meeting on Ukraine that is scheduled to take place in Burgenstock in June will be futile without Russia’s participation, the Russian Embassy in Bern told TASS.
"The meeting in Burgenstock, without Russia's presence, will likely result in yet another round of fruitless consultations that will be unable to yield any concrete results," the embassy said in comments on Switzerland’s decision to host the conference. "By organizing an event that is obviously holds no promise for a real settlement of the conflict, the confederation’s government has again demonstrated that they are ready to take into account only the Ukrainian position."
According to the embassy, Switzerland did not invite Russia to the conference.
"At the same time, our position is well known. The idea of a 'peace conference,' which is strongly touted by its organizers, is unacceptable to us, as it is just another option of pushing the unviable 'peace formula,' a collection of ultimatums toward Russia that does not take into account our country's national security interests," the embassy said.
Ultimatums "cannot serve as a basis for starting negotiations," the embassy stated.
It also mentioned the assessment given to the Swiss initiative by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, saying that Switzerland started the conference with the only goal "to ensure a sufficient number of delegates at the event, which is based solely on [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky's ultimatum of a 'peace formula.'" The formula "does not imply any compromises, alternatives," the diplomatic mission continued. It said the formula "completely ignores the well-intentioned initiatives made by the PRC, South Africa, Brazil and the Arab League."
At a news conference in Bern on April 10, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said that Russia would not participate in the Burgenstock conference. However, he noted that "no peace process can take place without Russia, even if it is not present at the first meeting." At the same news conference, Swiss President Viola Amherd said that she had informed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky about the decision. According to the Swiss president, the aim of the conference is allegedly to "find opportunities to start a negotiation process" with the participation of as many countries as possible.
According to the Swiss broadcaster RTS, the conference will be held from June 15-16.