“The Federal Council has decided that the expulsion of diplomats is a measure that must be taken in the context of a security policy, not as a sanction for something,” said Cassis in an interview with Swiss public television RTS on Thursday.
He warned that “changing the rules of the game” will “cause a lot of confusion”. Around 200 Russian diplomats were expelled from Europe 48 hours after reports of hundreds of civilian deaths in the Russian-occupied town of Bucha. Russia has firmly rejected the accusation and its ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia,claimed that “not a single civilian suffered from any kind of violence”.
Cassis also cautioned against the use of the term “war crimes” before the facts were established on what has occurred in Ukraine. He repeated that Switzerland wanted an independent international investigation to verify whether war crimes were committed. The UN Human Rights Council has just launched an international commission of enquiry to carry out this mandate.
“These are indications of war crimes,” said Cassis in the RTS interviewExternal link. “They are not war crimes until a court of law says so.”
On Thursday, Switzerland joined 92 other nations in voting to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. This was only the second time a country has been expelled from this UN body after Libya in 2011. Russia had warned countries that a yes vote or abstention would be viewed as an “unfriendly gesture” with consequences for bilateral ties.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
This content was published on
Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
This content was published on
Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
This content was published on
New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
This content was published on
In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
Switzerland invites 160 delegations to June Ukraine peace talks
This content was published on
Russia is currently not among the delegations invited to talks aimed at helping bring about peace in the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
Survey: air travel most popular way to go on holidays for Swiss
This content was published on
Despite the climate crisis, flying is the most popular mode of transport for private travel – particularly among young, urban and high-income travellers.
Swiss government to use phone data to identify asylum seekers
This content was published on
From April 2025, authorities plan to be able to analyse data from mobile phones, computers and other data carriers to identify asylum seekers.
This content was published on
In some parts of the world, Russia's war in Ukraine has highlighted fault lines that could have a wider impact on global politics.
Diplomatic isolation of Russia – a tricky strategy in International Geneva
This content was published on
In Geneva, the war in Ukraine has prompted the West to exclude Russia from some international fora. Some fear the strategy could backfire.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.