The upper house of the parliament of Switzerland supported the governmentʼs proposal to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. More than $8 billion belonging to the Central Bank of Russia is stored in this country.
21 parliamentarians voted for this proposal, 19 were against it, and three abstained. The lower house approved the project last year, reports France24.
Therefore, the government was allowed to create a legal mechanism that provides for the transfer of frozen funds of the aggressor country or assets of its state-owned companies to the affected states.
"The facts are very clear indeed. Russia has seriously violated international law. Therefore, it must compensate for the damage caused," said Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
- Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland has maintained neutrality and does not allow the re-export of weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, Switzerland joined the sanctions imposed against Russia, accepts Ukrainian refugees and provides financial and humanitarian aid. Switzerland also blocked Russian assets worth almost $8 billion and decided to allocate approximately $100 million to Ukraine to repair energy infrastructure.