Faced with attacks and maneuvers by foreign intelligence services on its soil, Switzerland is raising its voice. From now on, Parliament has decided to expel all the barbouzes who endanger national security. It must be said that the country has no shortage of them, especially with a Russian passport.
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With our correspondent in Geneva, Jeremy Lanche
There Swiss welcomes more than 200 Russian diplomats on its soil. This is more than any other European country. But Berne knows very well that most use their status as a cover. “ In 2023, the Swiss intelligence service published a report which stated that around a third of Russian diplomatic personnel were spies. That would represent around 80 people », Explains Jean-Marc Rickly, director of global and emerging risks at the Geneva Center for Security Policy.
So there are a lot of spies for a lot of international organizations. Switzerland hosts 45. We think of the United Nations (UN), but also to the World Trade Organization (WTO) or to the World Anti-Doping Agency.
No eviction
Since 2022, the European Union has expelled several hundred of these fake diplomats. Switzerland, zero. A form of tolerance, in the land of neutrality but which seems outdated. Moscow now perceives Switzerland as an objective ally of Ukraine: “ For several weeks, there have been parallels on certain social networks between Switzerland’s cooperation with Nazi Germany, and now cooperation with the regime of Volodymyr Zelensky, continues Jean-Marc Rickly. In Russiathere is a smear campaign against Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd. »
Espionage activities, from Russia and elsewhere, are expected to intensify in the run-up to the Peace Summit in Ukrainescheduled for Switzerland on June 15 and 16.
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