Diplomatic relations between the two countries ended when Russia invaded Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Ambassador to Switzerland, Artem Ribchenko, recently outlined what that means in concrete terms.

In an interview with the "NZZ" Ribchenko recalled that numerous Ukrainian children and civilians had been kidnapped somewhere in Russia.

John Knight

Correspondent for politics and economy in Switzerland.

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In the aggressor state they would no longer have any advocates.

"We want our children and citizens back," said the ambassador.

In the absence of direct diplomatic channels, a helpful approach could be to give neutral Switzerland a protecting power mandate for Ukraine in Russia.

Switzerland could thus take over part of Ukraine's consular or diplomatic tasks in Russia;

this would include prison visits to Ukrainian fighters.

She could also slip into the role of a postman between the two countries.

Switzerland has long had practice in so-called good offices: since 1980, for example, it has represented the interests of the United States in Iran.

The Americans severed diplomatic relations with Iran after embassy officials in Tehran were taken hostage.

Since 2009, Switzerland has also been the protecting power for Georgia in Russia and for Russia in Georgia.

On the list of "unfriendly states"

As a spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry said on request, months of negotiations between Ukraine and Switzerland on a specific protecting power mandate have now been concluded.

In order for this to come into force, however, Russia must also give its consent.

But that's exactly where the problem lies.

Citing earlier statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Russian embassy in Bern said that in negotiations with Ukraine, Russia was not ready to consider offers of mediation from countries “that have joined anti-Russian sanctions”.

This has affected Switzerland's neutrality to a certain extent, the embassy wrote in a statement.

A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry also stated on Thursday afternoon.

The Kremlin had already put Switzerland on the list of "unfriendly countries" at the beginning of March.

Nevertheless, the Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis had hopes until the end that the Russians would also agree to the protecting power mandate.

In an interview with the newspaper "Le Matin Dimanche" a few weeks ago, the FDP politician emphasized that Switzerland is "slightly less unfriendly than other countries".

"We have not expelled any diplomats, we have not banned the Russian media." There are nuances, but they do ensure that Switzerland positions itself somewhat differently.

"It's a balancing act."

This now threatens to fail.

A spokesman in Bern on Thursday did not want to comment on the now slim prospects of an agreement with Russia: "Discretion is a crucial element in order to be able to provide good services."