This moves it away from its traditional position, based on neutrality for a long time, Peskov said, commenting on the call of the Center Democratic Union (UDC in Spanish), Switzerland’s largest parliamentary party, to invite Russia to this conference and not to turn it into a mere arms propaganda.

The spokesman pointed out that, on the Ukrainian issue, Bern has considerably lost its neutrality after “showing solidarity with the Western minority.”

Therefore, he continued, Moscow shares the view of the SVP party, which spoke out in favor of Russia’s participation, but considers it a matter for Switzerland.

The SVP holds 62 of the 200 seats in the National Council (lower house of Parliament), It speaks out against Swiss membership in the EU and NATO, opting to maintain the country’s strict neutrality, and opposes anti-Russian sanctions and arms supplies to Ukraine.

Switzerland will hold a peace conference on Ukraine on June 15-16 in Burgenstock, near Lucerne city. Russia will be absent from this forum, to which some 160 states were invited.

Ambassador to Bern Sergey Garmonin said earlier that Russia will not participate in any format, claiming that the conference seeks to present an ultimatum to Moscow and will not go beyond being a noisy publicity stunt.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, noted that the negotiating process on Ukraine is meaningless without Russia’s participation.

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