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China-bound plane with Swiss top diplomat redirected to Moscow for technical reasons

Ignazio Cassis was expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi on Saturday to discuss bilateral relations amid the coronavirus pandemic, including economic cooperation, as well as human rights topics

MOSCOW, November 26. /TASS/. /TASS/. A plane carrying Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, which was bound for China, has been redirected to Moscow due to technical malfunctions, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Friday.

"The plane of the Federal Council, which was flying to China with Ignazio Cassis onboard, has been redirected to Moscow due to technical reasons," it wrote on its Twitter account. "It will be checked to see whether the trip to China could be continued."

Cassis was expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi on Saturday to discuss bilateral relations amid the coronavirus pandemic, including economic cooperation, as well as human rights topics. According to the Swiss foreign ministry, the talks are part of annual Swiss-Chinese ministerial meetings that have been held since 2017.