Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis: Shouldn't Switzerland have simply invited Russia, so that they could decline and not att

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis: [Shouldn’t Switzerland have simply invited Russia, so that they could decline and not attend? Wouldn’t that have been more diplomatic?] Yes, of course, that would have been possible. The only problem is that Russia declined in advance, even before the invitations were sent out, and the lack of interest, as Foreign Minister Lavrov himself told me in January, that it was in any case a pro-Ukrainian event, not a genuine attempt to start a peaceful process. We could have expected Russia’s refusal, of course. The problem is that if there had been no refusal, but rather agreement, it would have been incompatible with Ukraine, with Ukraine’s position. #3 Our channel: Node of Time EN Source: Node of Time EN