MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the Ukraine war with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis in a phone call on Wednesday, his ministry said on Thursday.
Switzerland hosted a peace conference in June at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to which Russia was not invited. Zelenskiy has said he hopes to organise a follow-up meeting with Russia attending, although Moscow said in September it would take no part.
The Russian statement did not say if Lavrov and Cassis had talked about the proposed second conference but noted that Switzerland was “one of the countries showing interest in facilitating a settlement”.
“In light of Bern’s attempts to promote the idea of ​​a settlement based on the ‘V. Zelenskiy formula’, the Russian side pointed out the absolute senselessness of counting on presenting Moscow with any ultimatums to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, agreed upon behind the scenes by the West and Kyiv,” it said.
It said the call was held at Switzerland’s initiative and the two sides agreed to continue contacts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier on Thursday that Moscow was ready for talks on ending the 34-month conflict, which he said should be based on current “realities” on the ground, and on a draft agreement that was discussed with Ukraine at talks in Istanbul soon after the start of the war in 2022.
Zelenskiy said there was no agreement at the time, and Ukraine had been responding to a Russian ultimatum.
(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Alex Richardson)