Enlarge image
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis
Photo: Peter Schneider / dpa
Switzerland fully endorses EU sanctions against Russia.
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said his country is taking on all the sanctions that the European Union has already imposed on Russia because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This also applies to financial sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the freezing of Russian assets in Switzerland.
Switzerland is reacting to the serious violations of international law for which the sanctioned persons are responsible.
The country is also closing its airspace to Russian aircraft.
This does not apply to flights for humanitarian, medical or diplomatic purposes.
According to Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, Switzerland has also imposed entry bans on five oligarchs who have close ties to Switzerland and are close to Putin.
On the other hand, raw material trading will not be restricted because the EU has also not imposed any sanctions so far, he explained.
Cities like Geneva and Zug are among the world's most important hubs for trading in Russian raw materials.
For Switzerland, which is concerned about neutrality, the sanctions decision is a big step, said Cassis.
"This is the largest violent violation of international law since World War II," Cassis continued.
Nobody was prepared for such an event.
In view of the extraordinary situation, Switzerland has taken extraordinary measures.
»Of course we are on the side of western values.
We are committed to the rule of law, democracy and human rights.
And we stand by this community.«
Neutrality has been the most important principle of Swiss foreign policy for over 200 years.
This position has contributed to the country being spared from wars and prospering economically.
The government has repeatedly defended this attitude by claiming that this is the only way to act as a mediator between conflicting parties.
In the face of Russia's attack, the country now broke with the past.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU imposed massive financial and economic sanctions on Russia.
Putin, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were also put on the EU sanctions list, and their assets in Europe were frozen.
The pressure on Switzerland had recently increased to also impose tough punitive measures, especially since the Alpine republic is valued as a financial center by Russian oligarchs.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was very happy that Switzerland had joined the sanctions against Russia.
Transferring money to Switzerland will not help Russian oligarchs now.
ssu/Reuters