Impossible to achieve peace in Europe without Russia, envoy says

According to Maxim Buyakevich, any lasting diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian conflict is contingent on ending the stream of weapons supplies coming from NATO to the Kiev regime

VIENNA, April 11. /TASS/. Lasting peace in Europe can only be achieved together with Russia so the agenda of the upcoming conference on Ukraine’s "peace formula" in Switzerland is unviable, Maxim Buyakevish, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said.

"The thing to understand is that it’s impossible to achieve lasting and just peace in Europe and the world based on initiatives that exclude Russia, no matter if they are about some impractical formulas that are basically ultimatums, such as the one that is expected to be discussed in Switzerland, or something else," the diplomat stressed at an OSCE Permanent Council meeting.

According to Buyakevich, any lasting diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian conflict is contingent on ending the stream of weapons supplies coming from NATO to the Kiev regime, the withdrawal of all foreign mercenaries, instructors and NATO weapons operators from Ukraine, the revocation of the Kiev regime’s ban on contact with the Russian authorities and the creation of conditions to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. The Russian deputy permanent representative to the OSCE also noted that "any discussion on resolving the situation should take the current political reality and the situation on the ground into account, as well as Russia’s legitimate security interests."

Switzerland announced earlier that the conference was set to take place at Burgenstock in June 2024. Bern earlier received a request from Kiev to arrange such an event. On April 10, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said that Russia would not participate in the conference. However, he pointed out that "no peace process can be held without Russia, even if it is absent from the first meeting." About 100 countries are expected to take part in the conference.

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