Swiss Parliament supported the use of Russian assets to finance Ukraine

On March 7, the Swiss Parliament’s Council of Cantons approved a proposal that could allow the use of sovereign Russian assets frozen in the country to finance military reparations to Ukraine. This was reported by the AFP.

Twenty-one members of the upper house of the Swiss parliament voted in favor of finding a mechanism for the use of Russian assets; 19 were against, and three abstained from voting.

The lower house of the Swiss parliament approved these proposals last year.

Now, the country’s Federal Council (government) can create an international legal framework for using frozen assets of the aggressor state (Russia) to pay reparations to the attacked country (Ukraine).

Such a mechanism would ensure that frozen funds from the aggressor country’s central bank or the assets of its state-owned companies can be legally transferred to the country under attack.

“The facts are very clear indeed: Russia has seriously violated international law. It must therefore compensate for the damage it caused. International discussions on compensation mechanisms are currently underway, and Switzerland is taking part in them, using its knowledge, skills, and all its experience in this area,” commented Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

Switzerland has frozen more than $8.8 billion of assets related to Russia.

At the same time, last year Switzerland rejected a proposal to join the G7 working group on finding Russian assets under sanctions.