Article Author:
Reuters
Moscow — Russia said on Thursday it had turned down Switzerland's offer to represent Ukraine's interests to Russia and Moscow's interests to Ukraine because Switzerland no longer considers Switzerland a neutral country.
Switzerland has a long diplomatic tradition of acting as an intermediary between countries with broken ties, but foreign ministry spokesman Ivan Nechaev said this was inappropriate in the current situation.
"Switzerland was really interested in our opinion about Ukrainian interests towards Russia and the possibility of representing Russian interests in Ukraine," Nechaev said. told reporters.
“Unfortunately, Switzerland replied unequivocally that it had lost its neutral status and could no longer act as an intermediary or representative. It joined the sanctions.”
Neutrality Switzerland reflects almost all of the sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union over its military intervention in Ukraine.
Swiss media had previously reported that the main purpose of the Swiss proposal was to allow Ukrainians living in Russia to receive consular services from the Swiss Embassy in Moscow. (Reporting by Reuters, Editing by Kevin Liffey)
