Medvedev starts two-day state visit to Switzerland, first ever of a Russian president

Zurich: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in Switzerland for a two-day state visit.

It is the first ever official visit to the Alpine country by a Russian president.

Medvedev is due to hold talks with Swiss political leaders Monday.

On Tuesday he will visit a monument to Russian general Alexander Suvorov in central Switzerland.

Suvorov is venerated in Russia as a military genius who in 1799 outwitted an overwhelming French revolutionary force by escaping through the Swiss Alps.