Caviar, vodka and Putin’s daughters: Switzerland announces new Russia sanctions

Switzerland on Wednesday announced a range of new sanctions on Russia, the fifth set imposed since the invasion. Here’s what’s on the list.

Published: 13 April 2022 18:44 CEST

Switzerland's Economics Minister Guy Parmelin.. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / POOL / AFP)

On Wednesday, Switzerland’s Federal Council announced a range of new sanctions to be imposed on Russia.

Switzerland indicated in March it would join the EU in its sanctions effort on Russia, despite concerns that this may impact the long-held Swiss commitment to neutrality.

Sanctions on Russia: Is Switzerland still a neutral nation?

The sanctions largely mirror those put in place by the EU. The Swiss government said on Wednesday the sanctions “correspond completely to those of the EU”, with only those related to seaports not adopted by the landlocked country.

Here’s what you need to know.

Import bans

Switzerland has banned the import of Russian coal, wood, seafood, alcohol and cement.

The ban includes Russia’s two most popular edible exports: caviar and vodka.

Export bans

Switzerland has extended the sanctions to ban exports of certain chemicals and industrial robots, thereby harming Russian industry.

People

Switzerland extended its sanctions on specific individuals to an additional 217 people, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two acknowledged daughters.

This brings the total number of individuals hit by sanctions to above 1,000.

These sanctions target any of the assets the two may have in Switzerland.

The Swiss government said it was unsure how many of the individuals actually had assets in Switzerland, but it was working with banks and other financial organisations to determine the extend of the holdings.

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The study said the security picture in Europe had sharply deteriorated, notably due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, power politics and increasingly destabilised crisis regions.

The defence ministry established the study commission on security policy in July 2023, and tasked it with outlining security policy adapted to current threats.

Its report contained more than 100 recommendations, chiefly concerning Swiss neutrality, international cooperation, armaments policy and the orientation of security strategy.

Switzerland’s long-standing position has been one of well-armed military neutrality.

The landlocked nation is neither in NATO nor the EU, while its neighbours Germany, Italy and France are in both, and Austria is an EU member.

“The neutrality policy must be revised, more focused on its security function and applied more flexibly,” a statement said.

A majority of the commission recommended that the neutrality policy be more closely aligned with the United Nations charter, with greater consideration of the distinction between aggressor and victim.

“Switzerland cannot represent a security gap in Europe,” and its location surrounded by the EU makes the need for defence cooperation “clear”, the report said.

“Neutrality is no obstacle to cooperation with NATO in security policy matters,” it added.

“Cooperation with NATO and the EU should be further deepened with the aim of a common defence capability and developing a genuine defence cooperation,” the statement said.

Switzerland should therefore set out its expectations from its own defence capabilities, and what it could offer to cooperation partners.

With the committee finding hybrid warfare was “the main threat to Switzerland”, the country’s arms industry should be strengthened and calibrated more closely to the threat situation.

Therefore, “access to EU and NATO cooperation projects should be ensured”.

The report also called for strengthened diplomatic efforts on international arms control and on regulating new technologies.

The report’s author said Russia’s aggression in Ukraine opened the door to a conflict with NATO, and said Switzerland’s neutrality did not guarantee it would not be attacked.

The study recommended increasing the defence budget to one percent of gross domestic product by 2030.

The report will feed into the broader 2025 security policy strategy.