Jungfrau Zeitung – Russia puts Switzerland under pressure
security in Europe | February 5, 2022
Russia wants to know Switzerland’s position on security in Europe and on NATO’s eastward expansion. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sent a letter to Federal President Ignazio Cassis on Friday. The foreign department is now clarifying the questions.
At a meeting on January 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German President Ignazio Cassis seemed to be in good spirits.Photos: Keystone/Pool, Jean-Christophe Bott
Federal President Ignazio Cassis has received a corresponding letter from the Russian Foreign Minister, Valentin Clivaz, appointed head of media in the Foreign Department (FDFA), informed the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday. The FDFA thus confirmed a corresponding media report.
In the letter, Lavrov explained Russia’s ideas about a European security order. On Friday, Russia and China released a statement in which the countries called for an end to eastward enlargement and a renunciation of Ukraine’s inclusion in the military alliance.
Lavrov then sent a letter to the foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Switzerland is a member of the OSCE. In the letter, Lavrov urges foreign ministers to provide answers to Moscow’s questions about security in Europe. They should explain how the principle of “indivisible security” should be guaranteed in Europe. What is meant by this is that the security of one country is not guaranteed at the expense of the interests of another state.
“Time of Diplomacy”
“The interpretation of this security regulation is a matter for the OSCE,” said Federal President Cassis on Saturday on Radio SRF’s “Samstagsrundschau” program. This safety regulation has been in place for almost 50 years. If their interpretation in the OSCE is unclear, a dialogue must be started within the OSCE.
Federal President Ignazio Cassis will now clarify the questions from Russia.
The geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe is very tense today, said Cassis. The Federal Council is making an effort and Switzerland is committed to dialogue and de-escalation. Among other things, he referred to a meeting between Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Geneva, and a meeting between Russia and NATO in Brussels. He called on Lavrov and Blinken in Geneva to de-escalate. “Now is the time for diplomacy,” Cassis said. All measures must be taken to ensure that the situation does not escalate. The OSCE is also involved.
FDFA consults OSCE
Previously, Clivaz said on request that the EDA had taken note of the view in the letter and would carry out clarifications. As a rule, letters to the Federal President would be answered individually. But the letter is about OSCE decisions. The OSCE is therefore the appropriate platform to meet Russian requirements. According to the EDA, the Polish OSCE Chairmanship will begin a dialogue process next week. Switzerland supports this approach.
Russia had previously addressed the catalog of demands to NATO and the USA. These reject Russia’s core concerns but have offered dialogue in written replies. The Russian answer is pending, as the Kremlin had made clear.
Western reports of a deployment of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers near Ukraine fear that the Kremlin is planning an invasion of its neighboring country. Moscow denies that. It is also considered possible that the Russian side wants to stir up resistance in order to persuade NATO to make concessions to demands for new security guarantees.