Swiss, Russian president to meet on June 16 — Switzerland’s government

GENEVA (TASS): Switzerland’s President Guy Parmelin will hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on June 16, the Swiss government said in a statement on Friday.

“The Swiss-Russian bilateral talks will be held on Wednesday, June 16,” the statement reads.

“Bilateral relations are good and close in many areas. The stated aim of Switzerland’s foreign policy strategy is to maintain a constructive and critical dialogue with Russia in order to further strengthen relations,” the Swiss government added.

“Fostering the relationship is particularly important on account of Switzerland’s protecting power mandates for Russia and Georgia. There is also great potential for economic exchange. In addition, the talks will address security issues in Europe and efforts to strengthen the multilateral level (Council of Europe and OSCE),” the statement said.

Parmelin earlier wrote on Twitter that “Switzerland and Russia maintain close ties in many fields”. “I am pleased that my colleague Ignazio Cassis [the Swiss foreign minister] and I will have a chance to meet with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Geneva summit,” he noted.

The presidents of Russia and the US will meet in Geneva on June 16. This will be the first Russian-US summit after Putin’s meeting with then US President Donald Trump in Helsinki in July 2018. The Kremlin press service said earlier that the two leaders would discuss Russia-US relations, strategic stability matters and pressing global issues, including the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Their talks will take place at the Villa La Grange.