GENEVA, February 16. /TASS/. Swiss politician, journalist, writer, and member of the Geneva parliament Guy Mettan believes that Russia's decision to hold negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement in Geneva is a gesture of goodwill.
He told TASS that "this is indeed the first time since 2022 that serious official talks involving Russia have been held in Geneva." Mettan also pointed to the visit of a high-level Russian parliamentary delegation in July 2025 to participate in the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament. At that time, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko and State Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy arrived in Geneva to take part in the event. This visit "was not related to negotiations," the politician noted.
Mettan recalled that Moscow had previously "given preference to Geneva" as a venue for negotiations. This is evidenced by the 2021 summit between the presidents of Russia and the United States and the 2022 meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers. However, after February 24, 2022, Russia "was very disappointed" by Switzerland's actions, as it "unilaterally supported Ukraine, compromising its neutrality and putting forward meaningless arguments," the lawmaker noted. "Thus, the resumption of these negotiations on Swiss soil can be seen as a gesture of goodwill on the part of Russia," he concluded.
The first round of trilateral security consultations between Russia, the US and Ukraine took place on January 23-24 in Abu Dhabi. The Russian negotiating team was led by Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff. The second round was held in the UAE capital on February 4-5. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the next round of negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement will also take place in a trilateral Russian-American-Ukrainian format on February 17-18 in Geneva. According to him, the Russian delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
The Swiss authorities have repeatedly expressed their desire to host negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict on their territory. In response, the Russian side pointed out that the country lost its neutral status by joining the EU's illegal anti-Russian sanctions. The unacceptability of Bern as a mediator was also demonstrated by the failed conference on Ukraine in Burgenstock, organized in June 2024 on the initiative of Kiev, to which Russia was not invited.