Switzerland Not Feeling Pressure From EU to Join Anti-Russian Sanctions

Switzerland has a "very clear stance" on anti-Russian sanctions, according to Stefan Fluckiger, Swiss Ambassador and Head of Sectorial Foreign Policies Division at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Switzerland is not feeling any pressure from the side of the European Union or the United States calling for joining the anti-Russian sanctions, Stefan Fluckiger, Swiss Ambassador and Head of Sectorial Foreign Policies Division at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, told Sputnik.

"No, we don't feel any pressure. Our position has been very clear, and we communicated it to all sides — the US, Russia and the EU," Fluckiger said, asked whether Switzerland feels any pressure concerning the issue of sanctions.

"We are not applying sanctions, there are no Swiss sanctions. But we took measures to ensure that our territory cannot be used to circumvent the sanctions of our main trading partners. Our neutrality played an important role in the definition of this policy," Fluckiger said.

He added that despite there is no pressure, "there is a lot of explanation."

"The Americans are saying: why are you not joining sanctions? We reply that we are neutral. The Russians are saying: why are you applying sanctions? We say that we do not. So, it's a lot of explaining," Fluckiger said.