Switzerland adopts EU sanctions package against Russia

Switzerland has imposed sanctions on Russia that mirror EU restrictions, closing the final geographical and political gap in Europe's response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The decision to freeze selected Russian assets and block airspace to Russia aircraft came after concerns last week that non-EU member Switzerland would take a softer stance, leaving a back door for Russian politicians and oligarchs.

"Countries that advocate international law should be able to depend on Switzerland," said Ignazio Cassis, head of the Swiss federal government, announcing the adoption of EU sanctions "in their entirety".

Any Swiss-based wealth of 363 persons listed in the EU sanctions was “blocked with immediate effect”, he said, and five unnamed oligarchs were now banned from entry.

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It marks a radical shift from last Friday when Bern declined to freeze the assets of Russian individuals and companies, citing Swiss neutrality and its wish to keep open diplomatic channels.

After sanctions rained down on Moscow from Brussels all weekend, an emergency cabinet meeting in Bern on Monday said that its previous stance did not serve Swiss neutrality in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Mr Cassis said the scale of Russian aggression towards Ukraine meant that, for Switzerland, “playing into the hands of an aggressor is not neutral”.

Minister for finance Uli Maurer said domestic Swiss financial ties with Russia, whether direct investment or central bank contacts, were "at the lower end of the spectrum".

“These sanctions are predictable and can be shouldered by Switzerland without a problem,” he said, adding no extensive liabilities would lapse.

However, Swiss banks have long been a favourite with wealthy Russians, holding nearly 10.4 billion swiss francs (€10.1bn) in 2020, according to the Swiss National Bank. Close Putin allies, such as oil oligarch Gennadi Timtschenko, live in Switzerland.

Mr Maurer said on Monday that relevant accounts had not yet been frozen because he did not have all relevant details of the latest EU sanctions packages. He said Switzerland “naturally” would be part of the expulsion of five Russian banks from the Swift payments system.

Clear step

“Naturally Switzerland supports this, and will ensure there is no circumvention in this area,” he added.

Swiss analysts said it was an “unusually clear step” for Bern to accept EU sanctions 1:1 – even if many oligarchs are likely to have already moved their money out of Europe.

"I don't think this kind of sanctions will have a huge effect on them, but as a political symbol it is very important," said Prof Laurent Goetschel, political scientist at the University of Basel.

Switzerland said it has revoked visa privileges for all Russian nationals, in particular for diplomatic passport holders, and would ban individuals “who have a connection to Switzerland and are close to the Russian president”.

While diplomatic flights were excluded from the airspace ban, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, now on the EU and Swiss sanctions list, said he would not attend an upcoming sitting of the UN human rights council in Geneva.

As well as sanctions, the Swiss government promised to deliver 25 tonnes of humanitarian relief supplies to the Ukrainian-Polish border.