On May 2, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Russia will not attend the conference on Ukraine held in Switzerland next June.
In a statement, spokeswoman Zakharova said Switzerland cannot be a forum for a dialogue to find a solution because it stands with Ukraine while imposing sanctions on Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman made the statement after Switzerland announced that it had invited over 160 foreign delegations to attend the Ukraine peace conference in June, including the Group of Seven (G7), the Group of Twenty (G20) and several international organizations.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry said that "at this stage" Russia is not among the countries invited to attend. According to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Bern has left open the possibility of inviting Russia to the conference, but Moscow has no intention of attending. The Swiss Foreign Ministry statement also made clear its position that Russia needs to participate in the peace process in Ukraine.
The conference is scheduled to take place on June 15-16 at the Burgenstock resort near the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland. A statement from the Swiss Foreign Ministry stressed that all parties attending the conference need to contribute ideas and visions for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.