On Wednesday, Switzerland confirmed that it would hold the Ukraine peace conference at the resort of Buergenstock from June 15-16. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said Russia would not attend the first conference.
"I would like to stop another wave of speculation regarding the alleged options of Russia's participation in another gathering on the 'Zelensky formula.' Russia will not participate, and was not planning to. We have said this many times," Zakharova said on Telegram.
She told media in a written response that Russia had no confidence in Switzerland, a supporter of the Ukrainian government in Kiev that has implemented several rounds of EU sanctions against Russia.
"Under these circumstances, Switzerland cannot be a neutral host by definition, let alone a mediator," the spokeswoman said.
She compared the upcoming high-level conference to last June's Copenhagen meeting on Ukraine, which tried to promote Zelensky's so-called peace formula, a 10-point plan that builds on Kiev's ambition to roll back Russia's territorial gains. The gathering produced no breakthroughs.
"While pretending to act for a good cause, Switzerland is trying to promote Zelensky's compromised formula and push through a repackaged Copenhagen process. Any event that ignores Russia's position and is based on the 'Zelensky's formula' ultimatum is hopeless and detached from reality," she said.
Zakharova argued that the organizers' claim that they would seek a common understanding among the participating countries was a "ruse" because Kiev's peace formula left no room for compromise and completely ignored peace initiatives put forth by the Global South.
"The West needs the Global South to participate in the 'conference' only to add leverage to a 'collective ultimatum' that they will issue to Russia. We expect our partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America to stay vigilant and avoid being dragged into another anti-Russia escapade," she warned.
About 120 world leaders are expected to attend the gathering at the alpine resort of Buergenstock in Nidwalden canton, outside the city of Lucerne. Switzerland's stated goal is to establish a forum for a high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a lasting peace for Ukraine.