Russia sanctions at heart of Swiss neutrality vote

Swiss voters will decide on September 27 on a popular initiative on neutrality, which was launched to denounce Switzerland’s economic sanctions against Russia. But what is the true scope of these sanctions? And is Switzerland implementing them effectively? What sanctions is Switzerland imposing on Russia? Due to Russia’s veto in the UN Security Council, there is currently no comprehensive UN sanctions regime against Moscow. Following the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Switzerland’s main political response was to adopt the sanctions imposed by the European Union. A price cap on Russian oil, a ban on imports of Russian coal, vodka and diamonds, and the exclusion of certain banks from the SWIFT payment system: over the past four years, the EU has adopted 21 rounds of sanctions against Russia, the most recent at the end of July. With the notable exception of a provision concerning the overseas subsidiaries of Swiss companies, the Swiss government has adopted almost all of ...