If the Swiss government does not revoke it, the refugees could benefit from the protection for up to five years, before upgrading it to a B residence permit, she told the Le Temps newspaper in an interviewExternal link on Wednesday.
The so-called S status would only be revoked in case of a ceasefire or the deployment of international peacekeeping troops, she reiterated.
Keller-Sutter said she had asked the Swiss immigration authorities to prepare for such a case, adding this was not meant as a signal that the Ukrainian refugees would have to return soon.
She said the return of Ukrainians to their home country could take place in stages, similar to a procedure applied with refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s.
“Back then, single adults had to return first, then families without children, then families with children,” she said.
There are currently about 70,000 refugees from Ukraine in Switzerland. The authorities expect the figure to rise further over the next three months.
Swiss football boss wants crackdown on individual hooligans
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The head of the Swiss Football League says he prefers a harsher approach to individual hooligans rather than collective punishment measures affecting all fans.
Amherd: Council of Europe is ‘as urgently needed as ever’
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The Swiss government emphasised on Sunday the vital role of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, 75 years after it was founded.
Swiss minister: Italy will back Switzerland in EU talks
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Bern can count on the backing of Italy as it re-enters talks with the European Union on future relations, Viola Amherd says.
Student protestors at University of Lausanne continue pro-Palestine sit-in
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Since Thursday, a hall on campus has been occupied by students calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and a ceasefire in Gaza.
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Swiss public broadcasters RTS and SRF are drastically reducing their communications via the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Israel: president of Swiss universities rejects academic boycott
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Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, the umbrella group of Swiss universities, is not in favour of an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
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