Flags on a street in Geneva, SwitzerlandZURICH, Mar 25Switzerland joins a package of sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia, in particular, prohibiting new investments in the Russian energy sector, the country's Federal Council (government) said in a statement. and March 15… The export of goods and related services for the Russian energy sector is now prohibited. Participation in enterprises operating in the energy sector and the provision of loans or other financial resources to such enterprises is also prohibited.
Infernal, but not eternal: who will be the first to break because of Western sanctions. In addition, a ban is introduced on the supply of steel and iron from Russia, the export of luxury goods and goods used for maritime navigation to the Russian Federation. Transactions with certain state-owned companies and the provision of credit rating services are prohibited in the financial sector. At the same time, the Swiss government decided on certain derogations from financial sanctions for humanitarian purposes in order to facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations. Due to the situation in Ukraine, Western countries have introduced new anti-Russian sanctions, including against Russian banks and enterprises. A number of companies announced their withdrawal from the Russian market and the closure of production facilities in the Russian Federation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Western companies that refuse to work with Russia did so under enormous pressure, but Russia will solve all the problems with the economy that the West creates for it. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of containing and weakening Russia — this is a long-term strategy of the West, and the sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire world economy. According to him, the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people. Putin also said that the United States and the European Union had effectively defaulted on their obligations to Russia, freezing its foreign exchange reserves. He added that the current events draw a line under the global dominance of the West in both politics and the economy. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces strike only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops. With the support of the Russian Armed Forces, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive, but there is no talk of the occupation of Ukraine, the Russian President emphasized.
