Russian foreign ministry: Talks on Ukraine without Russia are pointless

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that any talks on ending the conflict in Ukraine were pointless without Russian participation, referring to a conference that Switzerland plans to host in June.

Zakharova also told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's peace formula - which calls for a full withdrawal of Russian forces from all the territory they have captured - does not bring peace closer but prolongs the conflict.

Switzerland announced earlier this month it would host a two-day high-level conference on June 15-16 on achieving peace in Ukraine. Russia has said it will not take part, and the Kremlin has said that the idea of holding peace talks without it was ridiculous.