PostedMay 10, 2022, 10:54 p.m.
The President of the Confederation answered questions from readers on international political news, in particular on the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia.
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- Sandro Spaeth
- Yannick Weber
For 45 minutes, Ignazio Cassis answered questions asked by German-speaking readers.
20min/Marco Zangger
How do you stay informed about the situation in Ukraine? Through the media? Or do you have intelligence service bulletins?
I have multiple channels. There are the intelligence services, but also all the Swiss diplomats. They observe everything that is said, everywhere in the world. There are also the media, of course, which allow you to be informed if a situation is changing quickly. Finally, the weekly discussions with my colleagues from the Federal Council, each having information related to their department.
Can you be woken up in the middle of the night by your services? Do you ever turn off your smartphone?
Of course. For example, on February 24, I was woken up at 4am to be informed of the Russian invasion.
Last week, a US congressional committee slammed Switzerland, accusing it of being Putin’s accomplice. How did you react?
More than reacting, I acted. I immediately phoned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. This position was simply unacceptable. He recalled that this came from a commission independent of the government and that the state of our relations remained intact.
The interview took place on Tuesday at noon.
20min/Marco Zangger
It is said that Switzerland houses a total of 200 billion francs of Russian assets. However, only 7.5 billion have been blocked. Don’t you fear for Switzerland’s reputation?
Not at all. Two different things should not be mixed up: money is not a problem because it is Russian, money is a problem when it belongs to oligarchs. Eight billion are frozen. On the contrary, I have heard praise from abroad about the Swiss reaction.
Now for questions from our readers. Elvira asks what you think of the idea of using the frozen Russian assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine.
First, we should know when the war will end. Today, it is estimated that the cost of reconstruction already amounts to 600 billion dollars. We can use freezing them for that, but that’s called expropriation. Ownership is a central value in our society. To take away from someone what they have requires laws, perhaps even a change in the Constitution. It’s a very long way. The Federal Council has not yet discussed it. But given the amounts in question, international coordination would be needed anyway.
A question from Rene. Why does Switzerland not remain neutral? By adopting sanctions, we are siding with the United States.
I can reassure René: we remain neutral. Neutrality has a kernel, it is the law. It prevents us from four things: declaring a war, joining a military alliance, exporting war material to a country involved in a war and allowing troops or war material to transit through Switzerland. It is the law of neutrality. Then there is the policy of neutrality. And the violation of international law was so serious that we could not be silent.
The President of the Confederation received us in his office.
20min/Marco Zangger
Question posed under the pseudonym of William Tell: why did you take sanctions without first consulting the people?
Switzerland imposes sanctions on the basis of laws, laws that the people have accepted. They say that Switzerland must resume UN sanctions. For these, she has no choice. On the other hand, it has the choice of whether or not to take up the EU sanctions. In recent years, Switzerland has taken over more than three quarters of European sanctions.
Question from Jörg: Why does Switzerland not sanction, for example, Saudi Arabia, which assassinates critics of the regime?
Because neither the UN nor the EU have taken any sanctions against this country. Only a few Saudi citizens are targeted by European sanctions. We did not take them back.
Question from Petra: what do you think of PLR President Thierry Burkhart’s proposal to deliver Swiss weapons to Ukraine?
The law on neutrality prohibits it, it is one of its fundamental principles. We cannot do this without first changing the law.
Did Volodymyr Zelensky ever invite you to Ukraine, whom you called your friend?
It wouldn’t make sense for him to invite me if we can phone each other regularly. It would be a symbolic political act which, for me, at present, is not important. The most important work is done behind the scenes and without public visibility.