Switzerland may lift sanctions against Russia after a referendum on neutrality

The authorities of the Swiss Confederation will be forced to lift anti-Russian sanctions if the initiative to tighten the principle of neutrality is approved at the upcoming referendum.

The official representative of the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Lea Zurcher, told Izvestia about this prospect. She recalled that the vote on this issue will be held on September 27.

The plebiscite was initiated by the Swiss People's Party, which has a majority in parliament. We are talking about introducing measures into the constitution to tighten the principle of neutrality, which includes, among other things, a ban on following sanctions, even if they are approved by the UN Security Council.

The speaker explained that if supporters of the tightening of neutrality win, the official Bern will have to lift the existing restrictions against participants in international armed conflicts.

This also applies to the EU sanctions packages against Russia, most of which the Swiss side supported.

In addition, the new status of the Confederation will significantly limit its interaction with the NATO military bloc — joint military exercises will be canceled and intelligence sharing will be stopped.

Earlier, EADaily reported that the authorities of the Swiss Confederation do not have sufficient legal grounds to carry out any confiscations of frozen Russian assets.