Switzerland decides to expel Russian spies ahead of Ukraine Peace Summit
Given that Bern is getting ready to host a significant summit focused on achieving peace in Ukraine, the Swiss Parliament's Upper House has backed a suggestion to enhance efforts for removing spies, focusing on Russian intelligence operatives.
Reuters reported that.
As noted in the publication, the upper house legislators supported the proposal with the wording "to expel Russian spies and other foreign spies consistently." It was also supported by the President of Switzerland, Viola Amherd, in her address to the parliament.
"Foreign states must feel that Switzerland is responding to violations of its security and defending itself," Amherd said.
This happened two weeks before the Swiss government will host dozens of countries to participate in peace talks regarding Ukraine.
Amherd said the government wants to consistently expel intelligence officers whose activities jeopardize Switzerland's security or its role as a host state. At the same time, she emphasized that this proposal will not lead to automatic decision-making.
Franziska Roth, a deputy from the center-left Social Democrats and one of the measure's supporters, said that neutral Switzerland is a magnet for spies because it concentrates international organizations.
She mentioned that the domestic intelligence services have noted that this is particularly accurate for Russian spies.
Roth argued that Switzerland should show "zero tolerance" for espionage and said the proposal should strengthen mechanisms to control and expel spies.
As the lower house already backed the proposal in December, the government must now act on it.
It is worth mentioning that the Romanian Supreme Council of Defense (CSAT) has announced the infiltration of Russian spies into the country under the cover of Ukrainian refugees. Their main objective was to gather intelligence on military exercises and aid provided to Ukraine.
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It should be noted that the Russian spy network continues to operate actively in European countries.
As reported by Rubryka, journalists during the investigation identified at least 38 Russian diplomats who may be spying undercover in Northern European countries.
Switzerland has become a center for a fifth of Russian spies operating in Europe.
In addition, Russians increasingly use foreign nationals in their operations. Thus, according to Ukrainian intelligence, the FSB is trying to find foreigners in Canada who are in contact with the intelligence services of various countries in the world to recruit them.
