Switzerland has joined the seventh package of EU sanctions against Russia, but the country’s neutrality is “not in question”, says the Swiss president, Le Figaro reports, citing news.ro. At the same time, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, believes that this is “a very important signal for the whole world.”

“Today, Switzerland joined the seventh package of sanctions of the European Union – and I am grateful for that. When such a country does not remain neutral regarding the protection of human values ​​and morals, this is a very important signal to the whole world,” Zelenskyy said in the latest message published on social networks.

Despite sanctions against Russia and its upcoming entry into the UN Security Council, Switzerland is “still neutral”, President Ignatius Cassis said on Wednesday, distinguishing between military “neutrality” and condemnation of violations of international law.

“Certainly there is a sense of greater unity in Europe against this aggression that has awakened us all from the situation of peace we have enjoyed for 70 years,” the president said during an interview with several reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. .

But “Switzerland is always neutral, the neutrality of Switzerland cannot be doubted,” he said, rejecting the idea of ​​rapprochement with NATO.

He stated that the idea of ​​rapprochement, in the sense of an intermediate step towards applying for membership one day, is not currently a political debate in Switzerland.

“Neutrality is quite simple: you don’t engage in war, you don’t send arms or troops to war, and you don’t give up your territory for arms or troops to belligerents, and you don’t engage in war. in a military alliance like NATO,” he said.

But “there is a foreign policy and a security policy around this neutrality,” and “condemning the violation of international law through this Russian military aggression is a duty based on the Constitution and does not undermine neutrality,” he insisted.

Switzerland has taken over sanctions against Russian officials adopted by the European Union after the invasion of Ukraine.

According to some observers, this is the reason why Moscow appears to believe that Switzerland is no longer neutral, a position that led to the forced pause in the Syria talks, which were due to resume in late July 2018. Geneva.

“It was expected that the Russians would not thank us for the sanctions, a reaction that was largely predictable, but this does not change Switzerland’s position,” commented Ignazio Cassis.

For the first time since joining the UN 20 years ago, Switzerland was elected in June to fill one of the non-permanent seats on the Security Council starting in January.

The President of Switzerland, who advocated “strengthening” of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, whose signatories will meet at the United Nations from Monday, said that his country would try to “reduce the gap” between the nuclear states within the framework of the Security Council. and non-nuclear, “with the trust of a neutral country.”