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West crushes hopes for Ukraine conference in Switzerland — Lavrov

"This simply ruins any chance of this Swiss endeavor being successful," the top Russian diplomat said

MINSK, April 12. /TASS/. The West’s overt calls for a collective ultimatum against Russia undermine any chance of success for the conference on Ukraine in Switzerland, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference after a meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers in Minsk.

"They are not planning to invite us. They have merely stated frankly that first, it is necessary to formalize a collective ultimatum to Russia. This simply ruins any chance of this Swiss endeavor being successful," he said.

Earlier, Swiss President Viola Amherd said her country would host a conference on the so-called Ukrainian "peace formula" in Burgenstock this June. The Russian embassy confirmed that "the Swiss authorities have not sent Russia an invitation to the conference in Burgenstock." Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that any talks on Ukraine without Russia are pointless, and are, in fact, "a negotiation process with no purpose."

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