Swiss Ditch Historic Neutrality to Enforce Russia Sanctions
- Government changes policy after weekend of debate, criticism
- President Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov among those targeted
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis speaks at the opening of a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Feb. 28.
Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The Swiss government broke with a long-entrenched tradition of neutrality and agreed to enforce European Union sanctions against Russian companies and individuals including President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The government’s decision Monday to implement the sanctions with immediate effect -- which prompted Lavrov to cancel a planned trip to Geneva -- came after a weekend in which it was criticized by opposition politicians and in editorials in leading Swiss papers as well as by other governments.