Mechanical accession: Switzerland will support the 18th package of sanctions against Russia

Switzerland will join the 18th package of EU anti-Russian restrictions in the coming weeks, Izvestia found out. Bern had previously automatically supported previous EU sanctions against Russia. At the same time, participation in anti-Russian politics negatively affects the country's economy, the country's parliament told Izvestia. Switzerland is fully following in the West's footsteps, although it has so far refused to support Ukraine with weapons and join NATO. About how Bern's policy deprives him of the role of the main mediator in the world — in the material of Izvestia.

Switzerland to join EU sanctions

Switzerland is ready to join the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia in the coming weeks, the government told Izvestia. According to the official representative of the European Commission, a new package of restrictions against Russia comes into force this week.

— Yes, it may happen in the next few weeks or later. Only the Swiss government can make such a decision. Until today, Switzerland has joined all EU sanctions," Fabian Mayenfisch, Deputy head of the Public Relations and Media Department at the Swiss Ministry of Economy, Education and Science, told Izvestia.

Bern is likely to join the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, Jean-Luc Addor, a member of the lower house of the Swiss parliament from the largest Democratic Union of the Center party, told Izvestia. Switzerland has already joined several packages of sanctions, often to the detriment of its own interests, solely for the sake of coordination with the EU and the United States. Therefore, Russia now considers it an "unfriendly state," which contradicts the traditional policy of neutrality.

— They (sanctions. — Ed.) had no tangible impact either on the war or on Russia's position. But the Swiss themselves have suffered, especially the most vulnerable, due to inflation and rising energy prices," the politician said.

He stressed that if the authorities really want to protect Switzerland's interests, they need to stop introducing measures that harm the economy and do not affect global conflicts. Today, one of the key challenges is the purchasing power of the population. It just doesn't make sense to keep going like this.

— At the moment, there has been no progress in changing Bern's unfriendly policy, which has consistently adopted all the illegal restrictive measures of Brussels. If, in this case, a decision is made to join the 18th package of restrictions of the European Union, this will not be a surprise to us," the Russian Embassy in Bern told Izvestia.

Gravity: Germany has increased pressure on opponents of anti-Russian sanctions

Berlin intends to convince Bratislava not to obstruct the new restrictions — what can it get in return?

On July 18, the EU countries approved the 18th package of anti-Russian restrictions. It included lowering the ceiling on oil prices from the Russian Federation, a ban on the sale of petroleum products from Russian raw materials, as well as direct sanctions against the Indian Vadinar refinery, where Rosneft owns a minority stake. The 18th package of EU sanctions also includes new restrictions for 22 Russian banks and the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The adoption was preceded by lengthy negotiations with Slovakia, which for a month blocked the adoption of another package of restrictions, demanding guarantees of Russian energy supplies.

Switzerland first joined EU sanctions against Russia back in 2014. The Federal Council then decided to "take all necessary measures to prevent circumvention of EU sanctions on Swiss territory." However, until 2022, Switzerland did not seek to automatically copy European sanctions against Russia.

The situation changed after the start of a special military operation, when Bern began to literally follow European sanctions. For example, in 2022, Switzerland supported the EU oil embargo against Russia. Moscow responded by adding the Swiss Confederation to the list of unfriendly states.

Swiss authorities have frozen Russian assets worth $8.8 billion, Reuters reported in 2023. In the spring of 2024, the Council of Cantons (the upper house of the federal Parliament) approved an initiative, previously adopted by the National Council (the lower house), to develop a legal framework that in the future will allow such funds to be used for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. However, Bern has not yet declared its readiness to confiscate Russian assets.

Why is Bern losing its status as the main global mediator

Switzerland's accession to sanctions against Russia weakens its position on the world stage, as the country loses the trust of a key mediator. Important international negotiations were held in Switzerland, including the meeting of the presidents of Russia and the United States in June 2021. Now the situation has changed: Bern will not be able to mediate in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, because trust in him has been lost, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in 2024.

— True neutrality allows Switzerland to remain a platform for dialogue between world powers. We don't decide the fate of the world, but we can play a useful role. Abandoning this position weakens our international value. Supporting additional sanctions is like taking a Kalashnikov assault rifle and shooting yourself in the foot," said Jean—Luc Addor, a member of the Swiss parliament.

Negotiating foul: Russia does not see Switzerland as a mediator on Ukraine

What is the basis for Bern's new "peace" initiatives to resolve the conflict

It is important that Switzerland's neutrality means only refusal to join military alliances, but not equidistance. For example, during the Cold War, it was one of the main anti-Soviet countries, even though Switzerland was not a member of NATO. In addition, non-participation in military alliances does not prevent the Swiss from cooperating with NATO countries, producing weapons according to NATO standards and making components, explained political analyst Vadim Trukhachev.

— The only thing Switzerland does not do is it does not supply weapons to Ukraine and prohibits the re—export of Swiss weapons there. Also, unlike Austria, it does not treat Ukrainian soldiers on its territory. However, no fundamentally different policy towards Russia should be expected from a member of the Western community, which would differ from the policies of the European Union and NATO countries," the expert added.

However, Trukhachev believes that Switzerland will not join NATO anyway, since this will require changing the entire legislative framework of the country. On the contrary, Ireland and Austria may join the North Atlantic Alliance in the future.