Ukraine and Switzerland have completed negotiations on the possibility of representing the interests of Kyiv in the Russian Federation after the breakdown of diplomatic relations.
The head of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Mikel Steiner, said this in a comment to "European Pravda".
"Ukraine asked Switzerland to take over the mandate of patronage for it in Russia. The relevant negotiations have already been completed. In order for the patronage mandate to come into effect, Russiaʼs consent is still needed," he noted.
Patronage in diplomacy is a practice in which a third state is appointed by another state to represent its interests in another state. Then this state receives the status of a "protector state".
- Switzerland already represents the interests of Georgian citizens in Russia since Tbilisi severed diplomatic relations with Moscow after the Russian invasion in 2008.