The US ambassador in Bern, Scott Miller, is not satisfied with the Seco. ‘Certain comments’ from Seco Secretary of State Helene Budliger Artieda worry him, he says, ‘because they question the usefulness of sanctions’.
For the ambassador, the sanctions against Russia are also difficult to implement: ‘It is above all the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) itself that thinks it is doing enough’, he says in an interview published Thursday by the German-speaking newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung. ‘I hope we can continue to count on Seco as a partner,’ he adds. Sanctions, in his view, only have the strength of the political will behind them.
Scott Miller believes he was influential in Bern’s resumption of sanctions against Russia at the end of February 2022. ‘I think I was able to present the American position quite clearly. Switzerland should not be able to be used to circumvent sanctions against Russia. It was a message that was received,’ he explains.
‘100 billion more’
The United States would have taken note of the 7.75 billion francs of Russian assets frozen in Switzerland. But ‘Switzerland could block an additional 50 to 100 billion’, according to Mr. Miller, who calls for international coordination agreements.
He also urges Bern to take part in the ‘Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs’ task force. ‘Switzerland would thus be part of the discussion on how to confiscate these funds within the framework of the international and national law of the States concerned, he explains. So far, Switzerland has shown no willingness to participate in the task force. Countries that do not engage in the confiscation of Russian funds should expect pressure, the ambassador said.
most serious crisis
Regarding the discussion on arms deliveries, Scott Miller believes that Switzerland is in the most serious crisis since the Second World War. ‘She is confronted with what neutrality means. We understand and respect it, he says. But it is not a static construction. Switzerland cannot call itself neutral and let one or both parties use its laws to their own advantage.
‘The United States and most of the international community that supports Ukraine believe that the Swiss Parliament should authorize the re-export as soon as possible,’ says Scott Miller. If Bern had assumed that Swiss war material would never be used in conflicts, it would never have been able to deliver weapons to other countries, he argues.
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