Switzerland to Invite Russia to Participate in Ukraine Peace Conference

Switzerland will invite Russia to participate in a high-level peace conference dedicated to the conflict in Ukraine, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told Sputnik.

Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that discussing peace efforts without Russia is not serious and "even ridiculous."

"It would be … naive to assume that within the next few weeks … a conference can be held that will bring peace. Thus, this conference is intended to open the process of searching for peace at a high level, at least at the ministerial level. It is unlikely that Russia will attend this first conference, but it will be invited. On the other hand, the goal is that we can converge on this path, including with the participation of Russia. So we have to imagine that there will be several steps along the way," the minister said.

Cassis added that next conferences could be held in other places, including BRICS countries.

"It is quite possible that the BRICS countries can and want to play a role along this path. We will be very happy if they do so, and we will discuss this with them directly. Today I will have a bilateral meeting with South Africa and Saudi Arabia precisely as part of this integration process," the minister said.

Some BRICS countries also have peace plans on Ukraine, Switzerland's top diplomat added.

"As for the peace plans that are known to the public, there is, for example, the Chinese plan, which was a topic of discussion during my visit to China. Several countries have made efforts and developed solutions for peace plans and they are public. And there are others who made efforts but did not publish them. These proposals still exist. And they are everywhere, all over the planet, so this applies not only to the West, but also to the BRICS countries and others. I believe this demonstrates a willingness to contribute to finding a solution to this crisis," Cassis said.

The goal of the conference organized by Switzerland is not just to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula, the minister added.

"But it is obvious that Russia also has its own peace plan, which is directly opposite to the Ukrainian plan, hence the complexity … The goal of this conference is not to once again discuss the 10 points of Zelensky’s plan," Cassis said, when asked if Kiev’s peace formula serves as the basis for the discussion of the planned conference.