Switzerland is no longer a neutral country and pursues an openly anti-Russian national security strategy, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has suggested. Moscow’s top diplomat was speaking after meeting in New York with his Swiss counterpart, Ignazio Cassis, who offered to serve as a mediator between Moscow and Kiev.
Russia has repeatedly insisted that it remains open to peace talks with Ukraine, as long as its national interests are considered and Kiev acknowledges the “new realities on the ground.” Moscow insists Kiev recognizes the four regions that joined Russia following a series of referendums in 2022.
Kiev, however, has been reluctant to engage in peace talks, and President Vladimir Zelensky has even signed a law banning negotiations with Moscow while Vladimir Putin remains president.
Speaking at a press conference at the United Nations on Wednesday, Lavrov stated that during his meeting with Cassis, the Swiss Foreign Minister tried to convince him that Switzerland could “as it did in the past, serve as a mediator on any issue.”
“I explained to him that a mediator must be neutral,” Lavrov said, pointing to the fact that “Switzerland was previously famous not only for its military neutrality, but also neutrality in a broader sense, which allowed it to successfully host various negotiation processes.”
www.rt.com/russia/591284-switzerland-not-neutral-lavrov/
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