Swiss Defence Minister Ogi meets British counterpart for talks on Kosovo

The crisis in Kosovo and Switzerland’s emergency aid in the war-torn region were expected to top the agenda of Monday’s talks between Swiss Defence Minister Adolf Ogi (l) and his British counterpart George Robertson.

The crisis in Kosovo and Switzerland’s emergency aid in the war-torn region were expected to top the agenda of Monday’s talks between Swiss Defence Minister Adolf Ogi and his British counterpart George Robertson.

The talks were taking place just outside the capital Berne, where Robertson was welcomed with full military honours.

The Swiss government announced last week that 160 Swiss troops would be deployed in the Balkans to serve with the Austrian contingent of the multi-national KFOR forces in Kosovo. In line with Swiss neutrality, the troops will be unarmed and will mostly provide logistics support.

Some conservative and right-of-centre parties in Switzerland have strongly criticised the Swiss government for the deployment of the Swiss troops abroad, saying the move is a clear violation of the country’s neutrality.

The same critics argued that it would be better for Switzerland to continue humanitarian aid in Kosovo, for instance under the auspices of the Red Cross.

Last Friday, Ogi again rejected the criticism and said it was important for Switzerland to show an active commitment to peace.

He said that Switzerland would continue its humanitarian support and reconstruction aid in Kosovo – including the Swiss helicopters used by the U.N. refugee agency in the Balkans.

But he added that miltiary support was essential for the Serbian province since the ethnic Albanian population needed the protection in order to be able to rebuild their lives.

The talks between Ogi and Robertson were also expected to focus on Switzerland’s revised national security policy, which is moving away from self-reliance toward increased cooperation with other countries and international organisations.

Source: APD