Russian ambassador backs Swiss President ‘war frenzy’ statement

Swiss President Alain Berset and Russian ambassador Sergei Garmonin at a diplomatic event in Bern in January. Keystone / Peter Schneider

Russia’s ambassador to Bern, Sergei Garmonin, has called on Switzerland to resist American pressure to ramp up oligarch sanctions and allow its weapons to go to Ukraine.

Garmonin told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper that Swiss President Alain Berset was right to criticise the “warlike frenzy” of some countries.

+ Wanted: politically convenient definition of neutrality

“I can only agree with what Berset said. The frenzy of war and the idea of ​​inflicting defeat on Russia on the battlefield has so shaped the power elite thinking of the so-called collective West that it often appears they have run out of common sense,” he said.

Berset has since retracted his statement after coming under pressure both domestically and from other countries.

US ambassador to Bern, Scott Miller, has urged Switzerland to think again about its stance of neutrality.

Miller said Switzerland should allow its munitions to be re-exported to Ukraine and suggested frozen assets could be increased from CHF7.5 billion ($8 billion) to CHF100 billion ($108 billion).

Garmonin accused Miller of trying to blackmail Switzerland and interfere in its foreign policy.

“Washington clings to its role as hegemon in a world it views as unipolar, refusing to accept the multipolar reality that has long existed.”