Go to mediabankMaria Zakharova, official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. File photoMOSCOW, Oct 14 Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented on statements by the Swiss Foreign Ministry that the agency would not comment on the desecration of a memorial to Russian General Suvorov in the canton of Uri with a swastika, calling it a missed opportunity for Switzerland to prove its neutrality. It is reported that on the night of October 11-12, unknown people painted two swastikas on the memorial to Suvorov's associates who died while crossing the Alps in 1799. The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bern sent a note of protest to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation demanding that urgent measures be taken to identify and punish those responsible. However, a representative of the Swiss Foreign Ministry refused to comment on whether a note of protest had been received. monument. In May, unknown people poured paint over a cross carved into the rock in memory of Suvorov's associates who died in 1799 in battles with Napoleon's troops. The authorities of the canton of Uri, on whose territory the monument is located, charged Russia with the costs of cleaning the memorial. Then the Russian compatriots and citizens of Switzerland washed off the paint from the memorial.
