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Switzerland recommends citizens leave Russia immediately

Switzerland’s Foreign Affairs Department (EDA) on Friday said any citizens currently in Russia should return immediately.

Published: 11 March 2022 16:42 CET

Switzerland has recommended its citizens leave Russia immediately. Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

Switzerland has recommended its citizens leave Russia immediately. Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

In a tweet from Friday, the EDA said it was ultimately up to individuals whether they wanted to return to Switzerland and said the recommendation was only temporary.

Das EDA empfiehlt Schweizer Staatsangehörigen, deren Anwesenheit in #Russland 🇷🇺nicht dringend erforderlich ist, das Land vorübergehend und mit eigenen Mitteln zu verlassen. Der Entscheid zur Ausreise ist ein individueller Entscheid. https://t.co/ViUhLUX9kS

— travel_EDA-DFAE (@travel_edadfae) March 11, 2022

“The FDFA recommends that Swiss nationals whose presence in #Russia is not urgently required leave the country temporarily and by their own means. The decision to leave is an individual decision.”

The EDA said Swiss nationals should use commercial transport to return home.

In its advice, the government acknowledged that there are currently no direct flights between Russia and Switzerland, due to a reciprocal ban on travel between the nations.

Flights however are possible between the two countries via an airport which is not participating in the ban, for instance Istanbul.

Switzerland has cancelled tourist visas for Russians, however Russian nationals in Switzerland with a legitimate residency permit are not required to leave.

Reader question: Do Russians now have to leave Switzerland?

Russia on Monday placed Switzerland on a list of ‘enemy states’ after the Swiss government decided to support sanctions on Russia.

At this stage, the consequence of being placed on this list have been largely diplomatic, however the EDA said it could not rule out Russia taking actions directly against Swiss citizens.

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Switzerland to host Ukraine peace conference without Russian involvement

The conference will take place at the luxury Burgenstock resort near the central city of Luzern on June 15th -16th and would be hosted by Swiss President Viola Amherd.

“This is a first step in a process towards a lasting peace,” she told reporters in Bern.

Russia quickly slammed the planned conference and Amherd acknowledged that “we will not sign a peace plan at this conference”, but said she hoped “there will be a second conference”.

“We hope to start the process.”

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and is putting Ukrainian forces under new pressure, condemned the event as being part of a scheme by US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party ahead of this year’s presidential election.

“American Democrats, who need photos and videos of events that supposedly indicate their project ‘Ukraine’ is still afloat, are behind this,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

Switzerland hopes to get Russia into later talks.

The government said in January, during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that it wanted to organise a peace conference this year.

‘Support for peace’

The government said in a statement Wednesday that it “took note of the results of the exploratory phase of the high-level conference on peace in Ukraine”.

It determined that “there is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process.”

In January, Zelensky spoke of a “summit” without any Russian participation.

But traditionally neutral Switzerland wants to find a way to bring the Kremlin into the talks, and has been battling to attract China and other emerging powers.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis also tried to woo Moscow, meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York in January.

Russia, angered by the Swiss decision to follow the neighbouring European Union in imposing sanctions, has charged the country can no longer be considered neutral.

On Wednesday, Cassis acknowledged Russia’s absence from the table but stressed that the aim was to include Moscow in future talks.

“A peace process cannot happen without Russia, even though it will not be there during the first meeting,” he said.

Since deciding that it wanted to host a conference, the Swiss government said it had been “in direct contact with numerous states to explore options for initiating a peace process”.

Switzerland had held talks with G7 member states, the EU and representatives of the Global South, including China, India, South Africa and Brazil, it said.

Bern did not disclose who would be attending, but Swiss media reports said US President Joe Biden would be on the list.

The conference will be aimed at establishing “a forum for a high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter,” the government said.

“It aims to create a common understanding of a framework favourable to this objective and a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process.”

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