Exiled Russians criticise visit of sanctioned Russian politicians to Geneva

Valentina Matviyenko is considered a confidante of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is on the Swiss list of sanctions against Russia. Keystone-SDA

Around 200 Russian opposition figures and supporters have sent an open letter protesting the participation of the president of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, and other politicians close to the Kremlin at a parliamentary meeting in Geneva.

The authors of the letter are calling for a criminal investigation. Their letter is addressed to the Swiss government and parliament, among others. Among the signatories are the Swiss-based organisation Russia of the Future – Switzerland, and the well-known dissidents Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza.

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Matviyenko is considered a confidante of Russian President Vladimir Putin. She had already taken part in the summit of female parliamentary presidents organised by the president of the Swiss parliament, Maja Riniker, in Geneva on Monday. In the days that followed, she led the Russian delegation at the United Nations Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, which also took place in Geneva.

As an ardent supporter of the invasion of Ukraine, the 76-year-old is on Western sanctions lists, including those of the United States, the European Union and Switzerland. In addition to Matviyenko, the Russian Duma politicians Leonid Sluzki and Pyotr Tolstoy, who are also sanctioned, were in Geneva on Monday.

As the host country, Switzerland had temporarily lifted the sanctions to allow the three to take part in the conference.

Affront to Ukrainian civil society

Matviyenko led the vote to formally authorise the war of aggression against Ukraine, according to the open letter. Like Slutsky and Tolstoy, she had repeatedly justified the attack on the neighbouring country. The presence of the three, who are labelled war criminals in the letter, is an affront to Ukrainian civil society, say the signatories.

+ Switzerland introduces new EU sanctions targeting Russian media

The presence of Matviyenko, Sluzki and Tolstoy also caused outrage on the part of the Ukrainian delegation. Olena Kondratiuk, vice-president of the Ukrainian parliament, had already expressed her shock on Tuesday. She called on the conference participants to boycott all public events with them. Every photo or handshake meant siding with the aggressor, she added.

The Swiss foreign ministry explained in mid-July in response to an enquiry from news agency Keystone-SDA that Switzerland, as the host state, was responsible for facilitating the entry of official delegates. If necessary, the sanctions can be temporarily lifted in order to allow participation in international conferences or a political dialogue on Ukraine.

Translated from German with DeepL/gw

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