The Swiss ambassador in Paris protested on Saturday against the “
unacceptable
” remarks of MEP Nathalie Loiseau, who declared that the European Union should not be
“a big soft Switzerland”
in its management of the Ukrainian crisis.
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“
I agree on everything with Nathalie Loiseau, we do the same things: help Ukraine, bring the Russians to the negotiating table.
I could have given this interview myself.
She wanted to push the European Union to do more
,” Ambassador Roberto Balzaretti told AFP.
“But the tone of his remarks is disparaging to say the least.
This sentence is very embarrassing.
It called for a reaction
,” he added.
"These comments are unacceptable."
Returning from Kiev, Nathalie Loiseau (LREM) told the weekly
Le Point:
"
Facing Moscow, Europe must not be a big, soft Switzerland"
, before tweeting the link to the article.
The ambassador then responded on the Embassy's Twitter account.
“Thank you for mentioning #Switzerland.
For decades, we have worked for peace and security, in Europe and in the world.
With discretion and determination, alongside our partners, such as France and the EU, and in multilateral forums”
.
A “
balanced reaction”
Roberto Balzaretti, former Secretary of State for European Affairs, told AFP not want to inflate the controversy, claiming a "
balanced response"
and claiming to be "
quite ready to discuss
" with Nathalie Loiseau on how to manage the crisis between the West and Russia.
"Basically, there is no difference between French policy and Swiss policy on this subject
," he added.
“
The means of each other are different”.
Westerners have accused Moscow since the end of 2021 of having massed tens of thousands of soldiers on Ukraine's borders for a potential invasion, which Russia denies, claiming only to guarantee its security.