ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland will tighten its measures against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, President Ignazio Cassis said on Thursday.
The government would adjust its regulations so Switzerland could not be used to circumvent sanctions imposed by the European Union, Cassis told a news conference in Bern.
“Neutrality does not mean indifference,” Cassis said, repeating Switzerland’s condemnation of the attack which he described as a severe breach of international law.
Bern would toughen measures it introduced after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 to prevent Russia using Switzerland to get around EU sanctions.
“For reasons of neutrality, Switzerland did not directly adopt sanctions at that time. Today, the government has sharpened its response,” Cassis said.
“The EU sanctions issued yesterday are to be integrated into this ordinance in the form of anti-circumvention measures, and individual measures will be tightened, particularly in the financial sector,” he added.
The list of persons sanctioned by the EU will be adopted in principle, Cassis said.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two.
The Swiss franc soared to 1.0288 versus the euro, its highest valuation since June 2015 as investors sought refuge in the safe-haven currency.
(Reporting by John Revill and Silke Koltrowitz, editing by Michael Shields)
