GENEVA Feb 3 Switzerland will not discuss development with Russia new strategy for relations between the two countries, which should be published by Bern in the second half of 2023, Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Pierre-Alain Elchinger said.
Earlier, the Swiss Foreign Ministry Foreign Policy Report 2022 stated that Switzerland would review its relationship with Russia in 2023 in the next foreign policy strategy.
«The strategy is based on the interests and priorities of Switzerland. There are no plans to involve other states in this work,» the press secretary answered the question of whether there will be any negotiations with Russia on this new strategy.
He added that the Federal Council could adopt a new strategy in the second half of 2023.
The Russian Embassy in Switzerland confirmed that no discussions on this issue were held by the Swiss side.
Switzerland has joined almost all European sanctions against Russia since February 24, 2022.
Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Ivan Nechaev stated that Switzerland had lost its neutral status. Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN in Geneva Gennady Gatilov also noted that the position of Switzerland on Ukraine had a negative impact on the international role of Bern. The diplomat pointed out that since the beginning of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, Switzerland has actually abandoned its status as a neutral country in order to side with Kyiv and its sponsors from NATO. According to Gatilov, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis, having gone to Kyiv, demonstrated his support for the Kyiv regime. At the same time, the permanent representative expressed the hope that Switzerland would change its position, calling the country's refusal to export ammunition, which would eventually end up in Ukraine, a «positive sign»