Warsaw, March 21 (Prensa Latina) Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said today that the imposition of sanctions on Russia is “compatible” with the historical neutrality of his country’s foreign policy.
“The sanctions are still compatible with impartiality, military involvement would be incompatible,” the president said at a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in the capital.
Swiss neutrality gives the nation “security” and a “diplomatic” function, according to Cassis.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a “special military operation” in Ukraine aimed at demilitarizing and denazifying that area.
After that, the EU, its Western allies and even supposedly neutral countries Switzerland and Sweden approved a group of sanctions specifically aimed at “destabilizing the Russian economy”.
Cassis added that diplomacy is necessary to negotiate a ceasefire, but also “when the guns fall silent,” according to Polish news agency PAP.
Referring to the sanctions, the Swiss President stressed that his country had decided to align itself with European Union (EU) policy and support the list of sanctions, which includes “hundreds of names” of businessmen from the Eurasian country.
Morawiecki, for his part, called on Switzerland to freeze all Russian oligarchs’ assets, saying the sanctions decided so far are not “sufficient,” according to the official.
“Switzerland is a place where many Russian businessmen have found happiness,” he continued.
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