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Crimea and Sevastopol

Swiss MPs may visit Crimea — lawmaker

This trip will become possible only after tension abates in the region and a "political balance" is observed

© ITAR-TASS/Alexey Pavlishak

GENEVA, September 1. /TASS/. Swiss parliamentarians may visit Crimea as part of Switzerland’s traditional mediation mission to strengthen mutual trust, Chairman of the Foreign Policy Commission in the National Council (the lower house of Swiss parliament) Carlo Sommaruga told TASS on Tuesday.

This trip will become possible only after tension abates in the region and a "political balance" is observed, he said.

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"It is not ruled out that such a visit will take place someday but as part of the diplomacy of good services and mutual understanding," Sommaruga said.

"Indeed, it is necessary to find a political balance so that no one’s interests are infringed upon," the senior Swiss lawmaker said.

"I believe the visit should be made in a relatively broad context. And if Switzerland wants to play the role of a neutral country and finally send a corresponding message, it should not act by taking what I would call a unilateral visit, that is, a visit related to one side or the other," he said.

"I believe it is necessary that everyone should calm down," the lawmaker said.

"It is necessary that all partners in the region, be it great powers, military alliances, regional political entities or [other] countries, could sit down at a table of negotiations, achieve the ceasefire and find a political solution," he added.

In these conditions, "delegates of Switzerland from among parliamentarians would undoubtedly be able to visit various places in the region and, in particular, Crimea," Sommaruga said.

A delegation of French parliamentarians visited Crimea on July 23-24. This was the first such visit by West European parliamentarians to Crimea and Sevastopol since March last year when the Black Sea peninsula held a referendum, at which an overwhelming majority of electors voted for reunification with Russia.

Following the results of their trip, the French MPs urged the West to give up the sanctions against Russia and recognize Crimea as part of the Russian territory.

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