The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed thousands of peace protesters gathered in Bern on Saturday and called on the Swiss government to seize the accounts of the Russian oligarchs.
“This is also a battle against evil,” Zelensky said in a videoconference via an interpreter behind a table and wearing his already typical green shirt. The request to seize the accounts of the oligarchs was met with applause.
Protesters gathered outside the Swiss parliament building carrying Ukrainian flags to denounce the Russian invasion that began on February 24.
Switzerland has aligned itself with the EU in sanctions against Russia, but no sanctions have been imposed on some of the Russian millionaires with accounts in Switzerland who are considered to be related to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition, Zelensky criticized the Swiss company Nestle, which maintains its business in Russia, and recalled that 112 minors have been killed in Russian attacks as of this Saturday.
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis thanked Zelensky for his participation from the stage set up in Bundesplatz square in the Swiss capital.
“We are impressed by the courage with which your people fight for freedom and peace. We are impressed by how they defend the fundamental values of the free world, which are also our core values,” he said.
The war in Ukraine is driven by “devastating madness” so the historically neutral country is “willing to bear” the price of defending freedom and democracy, Cassis said Saturday.
“February 24 changed the face of the world, and not in the best way,” Cassis said in a column published by the newspaper Le Temps. “We must boldly and tirelessly defend freedom and democracy. This comes at a price. A price that Switzerland is willing to bear.”
“This war is driven by a devastating madness that shatters all the principles and values of our civilization,” he continued, arguing that “neutrality does not mean indifference”, alluding to his country's usual position.
“Russia has massively violated the prohibition of the use of force, a principle anchored in international law. If it remained inactive, Switzerland would have played the aggressor's game,” he stressed.
“While the confrontation between democracy and barbarism reaches new heights,” Switzerland “cannot tolerate this war without reacting,” he added.
That is why Switzerland has adopted European Union sanctions in their entirety “in strict compliance with the law of neutrality”, which means that it “does not militarily support any belligerent, either by disposing troops or sending weapons.”
“Even if, for the time being, it is not an economic recession or even an economic crisis,” the conflict will have economic consequences for the country, stressed the Swiss president.
Cassis cited inflation, rising energy prices and the safe haven status of the Swiss franc that will penalize exports. It will also be necessary to “address the influx of refugees and ensure financial stability”.
“There is no solution that, with a wave of a magic wand, will preserve Switzerland from the consequences arising from the current situation,” insisted the president of the Confederation.
With information from EuropaPress and AFP
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