The Ukrainian side appealed to Switzerland to help provide consular services for Ukrainians in Russia.
Source: President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis
“Switzerland has offered its courtesies to both Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine is currently asking us for support, including from the consulate, for its citizens in Russia. We are currently discussing with Russia, as the three parties must agree. Offering our courtesy, as we do in US-Iran relations, promotes trust in us,” Cassis said.
He also said that the question of the expediency of Switzerland’s neutral status, in particular in the context of the country’s accession to EU sanctions, arose against the background of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“The resumption of EU sanctions against Russia was a political decision based on the values enshrined in our constitution,” Cassis said, adding that Russia was violating international law and “our principles and values.”
Switzerland has already represented the interests of Georgian citizens in Russia, as, after the Russian invasion in 2008, Tbilisi severed diplomatic relations with Moscow.
