Switzerland justifies not inviting Russia to peace conference, Moscow is "grateful" to Türkiye

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on June 11 that his country “accepts responsibility” for not inviting Russia to a peace summit for Ukraine, after consulting on the issue “with a number of countries.”

Conflict in Ukraine: Switzerland justifies not inviting Russia to peace conference, Moscow is 'grateful' to Türkiye. (Source: X)

At a press conference, when asked why Switzerland did not invite Russia, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said: “This is our choice. We are ready to take responsibility for this decision. As the host country, we have the responsibility for who to invite and who not to invite."

According to him, Switzerland has discussed with many countries, not just Western countries, about sending invitations, and "has considered the risks".

In addition, Foreign Minister Cassis added, some countries in the Southern Hemisphere requested to invite Russia, but on the other hand, Switzerland did not want the decision to invite Moscow to pose a threat to Ukraine's participation.

Earlier, the head of Swiss diplomacy said that the question was not whether Russia would participate but when, emphasizing that Bern was in regular contact with the Moscow government about the conference.

Recently, Russia has claimed that Switzerland is no longer neutral and declared that Moscow is not interested in attending the conference.

Along with Russia's absence, China confirmed that it would not attend because the conference did not meet Beijing's requirements, according to which the conference must be recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, require equal participation of all parties and require fair discussion of all proposals.

In another development, on the same day, Sputnik reported that, during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow gratefully acknowledged Ankara's commitment to resolving the crisis in Ukraine and other crisis situations.

Thanking Turkish politicians for supporting the negotiations and creating the Istanbul platform for talks with Kiev on resolving the crisis, Putin added: “President Erdogan also played an important role in concluding the grain deal. Unfortunately, it is not our fault that this document was not extended.”

Besides, the Russian leader also expressed satisfaction with the development in Moscow-Ankara relations.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/xung-dot-o-ukraine-thuy-sy-thanh-minh-viec-khong-moi-nga-du-hoi-nghi-hoa-binh-moscow-biet-on-tho-nhi-ky-274721.html