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Switzerland announced its readiness to host the meeting between Lavrov and Blinken

18 February 2022 16:01 (UTC +04:00)

Switzerland is ready to host a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. A similar readiness was expressed by the official representative of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the country, Pierre-Alain Elchinger, APA reports citing RIA Novosti.

The diplomat said that Switzerland is ready to offer its services in organizing negotiations if they are useful and desirable. “This also includes acting as a host or helping to organize discussions and meetings,” he said.

At the same time, Elchinger did not provide information on whether the Swiss Foreign Ministry received requests to organize a meeting of diplomats. He attributed this to privacy concerns.

Earlier it became known about Finland's readiness to provide a platform for negotiations between Lavrov and Blinken. Finnish President Sauli Niiniste said that if Helsinki were asked to provide such services, the Finnish authorities would agree. Blinken suggested that Lavrov hold a new meeting in Europe next week to discuss ways to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine.