Top diplomat Rossier resigns amid ambassador reshuffle
State Secretary and Swiss Ambassador to Moscow Yves Rossier has handed in his notice, the foreign ministry has confirmed. Wednesday also saw various ambassadorial positions reassigned around the world.
Rossier, 60, left the foreign ministry at his own request, the ministry said in response to a request from the Keystone-SDA news agency. The ministry did not comment on the reasons for the resignation.
From 2012 to 2016 Rossier was Swiss State Secretary and as such played a key role in preparatory talks with the European Union over Switzerland’s framework agreement with the EU. He then moved to Russia.
His term of office in Moscow expired at the end of 2020, and the foreign ministry wanted to transfer him to the Latvian capital Riga, according to the Tages-AnzeigerExternal link in December. The newspaper said Rossier’s preferred destinations were London or Ankara, but the foreign ministry had other ideas. It reportedly offered Rossier several alternatives, including a post in Geneva, but he rejected these as well as Riga.
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Russia summons Swiss ambassador over spying claim
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Russia’s foreign ministry has summoned Switzerland’s ambassador to Moscow for an explanation over Swiss accusations of alleged Russian spying.
Also on Wednesday the government reshuffled a number of ambassadorial posts. These include Rita Adam, currently head of mission in Rome, who will head to Brussels as ambassador and head of Switzerland’s mission to the European Union.
Adam will replace Urs Bucher, whom the government has appointed as ambassador to Israel, based in Tel Aviv. In Rome, Adam will be succeeded by Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, currently head of mission in Beirut. Marion Weichelt Krupski, currently head of mission in Dakar, Senegal, will become the new ambassador in Lebanon.
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Second Swiss humanitarian aid team dispatched to Beirut
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The Swiss Humanitarian Aid Corps workers are accompanied by three damage site experts from the armed forces, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. An initial team of ten Swiss experts, comprising of engineers, infrastructure specialists, a security advisor, a logistician, a telecommunications manager and a psychologist, have been in Lebanon since Thursday to evaluate the…
Christian Dussey, currently director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, has been appointed ambassador to Iran, based in Tehran. Markus Leitner will move from Tehran to London.
Alexandre Fasel, currently Switzerland’s man in the UK, has been given a new function, Special Representative for “Science Diplomacy”.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
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Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
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TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
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The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
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The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
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China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
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A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
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The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
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Tuesday’s six-hour exploratory talks between Swiss State Secretary Yves Rossier and David O’Sullivan, the Chief Operating Officer of the EU’s diplomatic corps, the European External Action Service, were described as “positive”. O’Sullivan said he was convinced it was possible to reconcile the current EU and Swiss institutional positions, especially as Switzerland was a “very important”…
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