GENEVA, February 6. /TASS/. Russian diplomats are having problems getting into Geneva after Switzerland introduced tighter visa entry regulations , Russia’s permanent representative to the UN headquarters in Geneva Gennady Gatilov said in an interview with Swiss daily Le Temps.
Asked by the daily whether Switzerland’s sanctions against Russia were creating problems for Russian diplomats, Gatilov replied in the affirmative.
"Yes, it is now more difficult for them to arrive in Geneva," he said adding that the lack of direct flights forces Russian diplomats "to travel via Istanbul."
"Moreover, we never needed visas in addition to our diplomatic passports. It was a mutual agreement between Switzerland and Russia," he continued. "But as the visa regulations have been tightened we must announce in advance any visit of our diplomats planning to attend talks in Geneva. It certainly complicates the situation."
Asked by the newspaper to comment on some international organizations’ measures "against Russian representatives" in view of the Ukraine conflict, Russia’s UN envoy stated that "they [the measures] are extremely harmful both for international organizations and the United Nations."
"These Geneva-based organizations were not politicized and operated in line with their mandate," the high-ranking diplomat said. "However, they turn out to be ineffective nowadays as they are being blocked by the collective West."
Speaking about what was going on with Russian scientists working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Gatilov said: "the history of Russian scientists' participation at CERN goes back a long way."
However, Gatilov continued, CERN’s work was also "politicized" and "there are no more scientists coming from Russia."
"Those who are still working here, will work until their contracts expire. They are told that they are able to continue working on the condition that they have no relations with the Russian institute and serve as non-Russian citizens."
The diplomat described this situation as unacceptable, having stressed that "international cooperation in this sphere will suffer," and "we will be using these resources ourselves in Russia."
Switzerland, which is not a member of NATO or the European Union, supports the EU’s anti-Russian sanctions. In 2022, the Russian government approved the list of foreign states and territories committing unfriendly actions against Russia, its companies and citizens. The Swiss Confederation has been included in this list.