Switzerland backs Moldova amid Ukraine crisis
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis thanked his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu for her country’s solidarity with Ukraine at a meeting in Chisinau, capital of Moldova, on Friday.
The meeting focused on the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian situation, according to a foreign affairs spokesperson quoted by the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA. Cassis also promised Switzerland’s support. Sandu said she had talked about development in the region, energy, education and economic cooperation, and that this second visit by Cassis was a great indication of support.
Cassis also paid a visit to Moldova last March, when he announced an increase of two million francs in humanitarian aid. A Swiss health team is assisting Ukrainian women and children in Chisinau.
Moldova, a non-NATO country that has a dispute with Russia over the breakaway Transnistria region, hosts more than 94,000 refugees from the war in Ukraine, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
The Cassis visit comes as French president Emmanuel Macron said France would organise a conference of support for Moldova in Paris in November, according to Reuters news agency.
Cassis now travels back to Switzerland before attending an international conference in Berlin next week on the reconstruction of Ukraine.
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