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Swiss-hosted conference on Ukraine has nothing to do with peace — Russian diplomat

"Those who continue providing weapons to the terrorist regime in Kiev are convening the so-called peace conference based on a 'peace formula,'" Maria Zakharova noted

ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. The upcoming conference on Ukraine in Switzerland has nothing to do with efforts to establish peace as it will bring together the countries that are providing weapons to Kiev, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"Don’t call it a peace conference because it has nothing to do with peace," she told reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). "Those who support peace don't send weapons to conflict zones. It’s obvious and it's a common practice for international relations," Zakharova added.

"Those who continue providing weapons to the terrorist regime in Kiev are convening the so-called peace conference based on a 'peace formula,'" the Russian diplomat noted. "They are doing things that contradict each other. Why so? Because they are once again trying to deceive the international community," she said.

Upcoming Swiss-hosted event

The Swiss authorities plan to convene a conference on Ukraine at the Burgenstock Resort on June 15-16. According to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Bern has invited more than 160 delegations to the conference, including from the G7, G20 and BRICS countries. The Swiss authorities added, however, that Russia was not on the invitation list.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would not beg to be invited to the event if it’s not wanted there. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in turn, noted that this conference was "a path to nowhere" and Moscow did not see the West’s readiness for an honest dialogue. Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly stressed that Moscow had never rejected the idea of resolving the conflict with Kiev through talks.

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