"Indeed, our turnover decreased, but still the main reason is the economic situation in Russia and, in particular, the oil price. And those areas and those industries in which we cooperated, and in which we noted a decrease, they are usually not connected with the sanctioned industries," Rossier said during a meeting with Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian upper house of parliament.
The ambassador stressed that the Swiss stance on sanctions differed from the position of other EU states, adding that it was necessary to separate the issue of Crimea's reunification with Russia and the Ukrainian conflict.
Rossier emphasized that Switzerland did not want to look like someone who tried to benefit from the existing Russia-EU conflict.
Since 2014, relations between Russia and the West have gone downhill amid the crisis in Ukraine. Brussels, Washington and their allies have introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions amid Crimea's reunification with Russia and Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive and undermine global stability.
Switzerland has not joined the EU sanctions against Russia, though it has introduced its own restrictive measures, aimed at preventing people targeted by EU sanctions from bypassing them, thus forging business relations with partners in the European Union.
