The Swiss federal government on Wednesday [26 Mar 2014] decided not to impose sanctions against Russia for its seizure of Crimea, claiming it wanted to find a “balance” between international law and Switzerland’s interests.<\/i><\/p>\n
“The position of our country is independent of the UN,” Swiss president\u00a0Didier Burkhalter told a press conference in Bern, saying Switzerland can only\u00a0use sanctions when they are based upon “international law and the interests of\u00a0the Swiss”.<\/p>\n
“And in this case the rights and the interests play a role… we need to\u00a0find a balance,” he added, as well as noting that Russian interests in\u00a0Switzerland were “very large”.<\/p>\n
“The federal council has noted the sanctions imposed by the European Union\u00a0and the United States,” he added.<\/p>\n
Burkhalter said some sanctions imposed by the EU would apply to\u00a0Switzerland, including a ban on the freedom of movement of some Russian\u00a0nationals as Switzerland is a member of the Schengen group of European\u00a0countries, which allow passport-free movement between them.<\/p>\n
Despite the decision not to impose sanctions, Burkhalter, who is also the\u00a0country’s foreign minister, said Switzerland would not allow itself to be used\u00a0by those trying to get round the restrictions already imposed on Russia by the\u00a0West.<\/p>\n
“We do not want to circumvent the sanctions,” said Burkhalter.<\/p>\n
He also condemned the Russian annexation of Crimea, saying there was no\u00a0violation of human rights to justify Moscow’s actions.<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, Switzerland has tried to tread\u00a0a fine line between the various parties and in February ordered a freeze on\u00a0assets held in the country by ousted president Viktor Yanukovych and his son,\u00a0Oleksandr.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month it announced it was looking into suspicions of\u00a0money-laundering by the former president.<\/p>\n
Switzerland has also frozen talks on a trade deal with Moscow and\u00a0temporarily abandoned a training programme with the Russian military.<\/p>\n
However, this year marks the 200th anniversary of relations between\u00a0Switzerland and Russia and as part of the celebrations Burkhalter is supposed\u00a0to visit Russia.<\/p>\n
No date has yet been fixed.<\/p>\n
The majority of Russian gas and petrol is traded in Geneva, and Switzerland\u00a0is an increasingly popular destination for Russia’s wealthy.<\/p>\n