A newspaper reported that Swiss President Viola Amherd stated today, Saturday, that "Russia is unlikely to participate in the start of a high-level conference for peace in Ukraine that neutral Switzerland intends to host in the coming months." Amherd's interview with the newspaper (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) was published just hours after Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis informed the United Nations that "Bern is seeking to hold the conference 'by summer,' after the idea was proposed in January."
When Amherd was asked if Australia had received any positive signals from Russia since then, she told the newspaper, "At this moment, it seems that Russia will not participate in the first round of the conference." She added: "We are in the process of starting a very broad alliance composed of BRICS nations, countries from the Arab world, in addition to countries from the Southern Hemisphere."
Amherd explained that "Switzerland hopes to organize the first round by summer, and the government understands that the summit should involve some prospects for success." She continued, "That does not mean that we will achieve our goal in the first step."
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Moscow described last month’s proposed peace conference as "pointless" and stated that it would be doomed to failure without its participation.
