Switzerland is holding a referendum on Sunday in which citizens are casting their votes on constitutional amendments that would sharply tighten the country's definition of neutrality. At stake are support for sanctions against Russia and cooperation with NATO, reports infohub.kz.
The right-wing populist Swiss People's Party proposes enshrining a rule under which Switzerland could join only international sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. According to journalists, if the Swiss back the proposed rules, the country would have to lift its sanctions against Russia imposed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moscow holds veto power in the UN Security Council and can block any measures directed against it.
The amendments proposed by the Swiss People's Party also call for abandoning close cooperation with any military alliances unless the country faces an immediate threat of attack.
Switzerland has largely joined the European Union's sanctions against Russia imposed after February 2022. The country is not a NATO member but maintains fairly close relations with the alliance and takes part in some of its programs.
Switzerland declared itself a neutral country back in 1815 and enshrined that status in its constitution in 1848. Today, however, the authorities can interpret the concept of neutrality quite broadly. As a BBC correspondent in Switzerland notes, neutrality consequently has its limits: the country deemed Russia's invasion of Ukraine a violation of international law and joined the EU sanctions against Moscow.
In the summer, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke in favor of tightening Switzerland's definition of neutrality. In a post on Telegram, she noted that "Switzerland has joined two dozen packages of European Union sanctions against Russia" and that "about 2,600 individuals and legal entities are subject to asset freezes in the country."
According to public opinion polls released in mid-September, a significant majority of Swiss voters oppose the amendments. Various sociological studies show that between 68% and 63% of voters intended to vote against, while between 31% and 34% planned to vote in favor.
As Reuters reports, citing data from the company Tamedia, supporters of tightening neutrality believe such a measure would prevent the authorities from diluting the concept and would help secure Switzerland's role as a mediator in conflict resolution. Opponents of the amendments, however, insist they would limit Switzerland's ability to respond to international crises and weaken its defense. About 25% of respondents also said that refusing to impose sanctions for violations of international law would be seen as supporting the actions of aggressor states, damaging Switzerland's reputation.