Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine has triggered a rare reaction from the historically neutral Switzerland: sanctions against Russia.
Switzerland, the banking system of which has often been a safe haven for Russian oligarchs, announced Monday that it will freeze Russian assets and enact EU sanctions against Russia.
HUNGARY BLOCKS LETHAL WEAPONS FROM PASSING THROUGH COUNTRY EN ROUTE TO UKRAINE
“To play into the hands of an aggressor is not neutral. Having signed the Geneva convention of human rights, we are bound to humanitarian order,” Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said, according to CNN. “Other democracies shall be able to rely on Switzerland; those standing for international law shall be able to rely on Switzerland; states that uphold human rights shall be able to rely on Switzerland.”
Cassis said Switzerland stands in “solidarity” with Ukraine and will provide aid to Ukrainians who fled to Poland in response to Russia’s brutal invasion. Cassis noted that his country is willing to mediate the conflict. Switzerland will enforce the sanctions the Euopean Union imposed last Wednesday and Friday. This includes all the assets the EU listed and sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Switzerland is not part of the EU.
Russia held over $11 billion worth of Swiss francs in 2020, the New York Times reported. Switzerland is also banning five oligarchs with ties to Putin from entering the country and has closed its airspace to flights from Russia, with exceptions for humanitarian, medical, and diplomatic flights.
Switzerland has long sought to adhere to a doctrine of neutrality in which it refrains from participating in conflicts between other countries. This includes economic sanctions. Although it has complied with sanctions from the U.N. Security Council, Switzerland has refrained from participation in multiple sanctions backed by the West, including sanctions against Russia from annexing Crimea in 2014, according to Reuters.
Swiss neutrality has frequently allowed the country to serve as a peace broker between warring powers. But international outrage against Russia has forced its hand. On Saturday, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Bern to call for peace in Ukraine. Cassis said Switzerland was deviating from its neutrality due to “the unprecedented military attack by Russia on a sovereign European state.” He said the country will evaluate future sanctions on a case-by-case basis.
“Russia’s attack is an attack on freedom, an attack on democracy, an attack on the civil population, and an attack on the institutions of a free country. This cannot be accepted regarding international law, this cannot be accepted politically, and this cannot be accepted morally,” Cassis said, according to CNN.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Russia’s offensive in Ukraine has sparked a fierce backlash from the international community and galvanized support for Ukraine from the West. A flurry of sanctions caused the Russian ruble to plunge nearly 30% against the U.S. dollar Monday. Russia closed its stock market Monday to delay a crash as nervous investors appear eager to withdraw from Russia.
