GENEVA, November 13. /TASS/. Switzerland’s neutrality, as well as the fact that the country is neither a NATO nor EU member, facilitates dialogue with Russia, Swiss Ambassador to Russia Yves Rossier said in an interview with Switzerland’s RTS broadcaster on Tuesday.
"Russia’s major partners include great powers such as the United States and China," he said. "However, Switzerland plays its own role in this game and though its role may be a modest one, nevertheless, it is important," the ambassador added. According to Rossier, "the fact that we are a member of neither the European Union nor NATO means that we don’t have to abide by these groups’ rules and are free to do what we think appropriate," he explained.
In this connection, Rossier pointed to the sanctions the West imposed on Russia over the events in Ukraine. He stressed that Switzerland had taken only "some" steps in that direction that it considered to be appropriate. The country "took measures to prevent attempts to circumvent sanctions." As a result, "everyone was a little displeased but it was the only way for us to do our job well. All parties eventually accepted it," the Swiss ambassador stressed.
Possibility of open dialogue
When asked whether Russians considered Switzerland to be a neutral country, the ambassador answered in the affirmative. "I believe they do," he said. "[People in Russia believe the Swiss] to be neutral and slightly different [from people in other western countries]," he said. In this connection, Rossier pointed to "regular dialogue on all aspects of politics" between Bern and Moscow. According to him, "more than ten" meetings take place every year.
Rossier also said that Moscow "values the possibility of holding a conversation" with Bern because it gave Russia an opportunity "to test its arguments." "They know that if we say something it is not because we have to say it following some group’s rules," the Swiss ambassador noted. "In this regard, I think that trust and open dialogue are crucial," he said.
In response to a question if the September spy scandal, involving Russia’s alleged attempts to spy on the Spiez chemical laboratory and the Lausanne office of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), had led to a crisis in bilateral relations, Rossier said that he wasn't under the impression that it indeed was a big crisis.
"As for the intelligence issue, there is a need to isolate it so that it will not affect relations in general," he noted. "Many states carry out intelligence activities, particularly in Switzerland. This is why, first, we need to prevent this kind of effect. And second, we need to make people with diplomatic status abide by the minimum hospitality rules while in our country," the ambassador added. "However, our relations with Russia go far beyond this issue," Switzerland’s ambassador concluded.