Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

The president of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, left and Switzerland's federal president Hans-Rudolf Merz, right, attend a press conference in Bern, Switzerland, Monday, Sept. 21. AP Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday said "the degree of security [in Europe] is plummeting" and expressed expectation that Switzerland would play a serious mediating role in proposed efforts to build stronger security for the continent.

"We assume that this is not an extraneous subject for the Swiss Confederation because Switzerland is a neutral state. It is a key element of the status of the Swiss Confederation, and for this reason it is not a matter of indifference to them what will happen in Europe within the next few years," Medvedev told a news conference after talks with Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz.

Europe has become less secure over the past 10 to 15 years, Medvedev said. "We are not divided today into any blocs for ideological reasons, we don't have different values, but at the same time the degree of security is plummeting," Medvedev said.

"For this reason, we very much count on the mediatory services of the Swiss Confederation in laying the foundations for a new security architecture," he said.