RT.com
17 Mar 2023, 04:14 GMT+10
Washington is attempting to make Switzerland drop its arms re-export ban, foreign ministry has warned
The US ambassador to Switzerland appeared to blackmail the Swiss government when he asserted in a recent interview that Bern is in no position to maintain neutrality over the conflict in Ukraine, a senior Russian diplomat has insisted.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was commenting on recent remarks made by US envoy Scott Miller, and connecting them with this week's fall in the share price of Credit Suisse, a leading Swiss financial institution.
"Considering that the second-largest Swiss bank plunged right after three American banks went bust, such a statement looks like direct blackmail," Zakharova said Thursday on social media.
The essence of Miller's message, she added, looked like "drop neutrality and start sending weapons to the Kiev regime, and you'll keep living full-bellied and lavishly; refuse - and bad days are in order."
In his interview with newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung on Thursday, Miller stated that Switzerland was "in the worst crisis since the Second World War" and was being "confronted with what neutrality means." While Washington respects Bern's policy not to sell arms to war zones, he added, it "cannot claim to be neutral and allow one or both sides to use its laws for their own benefit."
The country's stance, which President Alain Berset reaffirmed earlier this month, prevents Swiss-made weapons from being sent to Ukraine, including by other nations. Miller also declared, referring to Russia, that "the aggressor, who violates all principles of international law, benefits from the re-export ban."
Credit Suisse announced on Thursday that it will borrow over $53 billion from the Swiss central bank to stay afloat. The Zurich-based financial giant shed some 25% of its value in two days of trading, as its stock dove to all-time lows.
The US financial sector went into major turmoil after the Silicon Valley Bank imploded last Friday. Days earlier, Silvergate Capital Corporation announced liquidation of its crypto-friendly bank of the same name. On Monday, trouble befell Signature Bank and it became the third-largest US bank to go bankrupt after Washington Mutual in 2008 and Silicon Valley last week.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Greek Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Greek Herald.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: Bloomberg News has reported that New Jersey-based Valley National Bancorp is bidding to purchase Silicon ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has said it will build a $1bn medicine manufacturing site in Limerick. Lily ...
BEIJING, California: As the world's second-largest economy is still struggling to fully recover from the long-term effects of COVID-19, most ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Deposits at small U.S. banks throughout the country dropped the most since 2007 after the ...
DETROIT, Michigan: In a briefing for investors and analysts this week, Ford Motor Co. reported that while its electric vehicle ...
LONDON, England: Reuters has reported that struggling Virgin Orbit, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, is nearing a $200-million investment deal ...
LONDON, England: Despite rising air fares, a potential global economic recession and risks of gridlock at some airports in Europe ...
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters criticized the city of Frankfurt for canceling his concert and vowed to take legal actionBritish ...
© Provided by Xinhua URUMQI, March 29 (Xinhua) -- When speaking about famous products from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, ...
Elena Rybakina is closing in on a small piece of tennis history as she heads to the semifinals of the ...
The AUKUS submarine announcement earlier this month reignited a long-running debate about how to best preserve Australia's sovereignty.The announcement addressed ...
Israel will not tolerate meddling in its internal affairs, even from the ?best of friends,? the PM saidIsraeli Prime Minister ...