Russia’s Involvement in Ukraine Peace Process Necessary - Swiss Foreign Ministry

GENEVA (Sputnik) - Switzerland believes that Russia needs to be involved in the Ukraine peace process, as reaching peace without Moscow is impossible, Foreign Ministry spokesman Pierre-Alain Elchinger told Sputnik on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Russia’s acting foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said that Switzerland is no longer a suitable place for holding peace negotiations, and the goal of the upcoming June conference is to formulate ultimatums to Russia.

"After more than two years of war, it is necessary to try to begin the process of establishing peace in Ukraine. Switzerland is convinced that Russia should be involved in this process. A peace process without Russia is unthinkable. By organizing this first conference, Switzerland is doing its part to support discussions aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. The alternative would be to do nothing, and this is not an option for Switzerland," the spokesman said.

Ukraine’s peace formula will not be the only peace plan that will be discussed at the upcoming summit in Switzerland, Elchinger added.

Switzerland's neutrality only applies to the military field, the spokesman said in response to Lavrov's remark that the country abandoned neutrality by siding with Ukraine.

Switzerland will host the high-level conference on Ukrainian peace at the Buergenstock resort outside of Lucerne from June 15–16. The event is expected to bring together more than 160 delegations from around the world. Russia is not on the guest list. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the peace conference is clearly not result-oriented, as it is impossible to have effective talks on Ukraine without Russia's participation.