Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Foreign press criticises Swiss neutrality in Ukraine war

Newspapers in a stand
International media headlines have been critical of Switzerland this year. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The international media has been critical of Switzerland’s political neutrality in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a study of news headlines has found.

Switzerland was at first hesitant to apply sanctions to Russia but eventually mirrored those of the European Union. Despite criticising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Alpine state has insisted on a neutral stance.

Switzerland has also faced negative headlines by refusing to allow the re-export of ammunition to Ukraine via Germany.

More

“A number of reports, especially in the European press, were critical of Switzerland,” said the foreign ministry agency Presence Switzerland on Thursday.

“Neutrality was associated more strongly with Switzerland than in previous years, with responses tending to be more critical.”

More column inches were devoted to the fate of struggling bank Credit Suisse and to the “Suisse Secrets” leak of sensitive bank data.

Tennis star Roger Feder’s retirement and a planned radioactive waste dump near to the German border also drew strong reactions from the foreign media.

But Presence Switzerland found that public perception in 18 other countries was often more favourable than press coverage.

“Switzerland’s landscape, traditional products such as chocolate, cheese and watches, its financial services sector, a strong and stable economy, wealth and a high standard of living featured highly in people’s responses,” it concluded.

More


Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Swiss army seeks to buy German howitzers

More

Swiss army plans to buy German howitzers

This content was published on The Swiss army wants to purchase new German armoured howitzers to replace its existing artillery system which has been in operation for over 50 years.

Read more: Swiss army plans to buy German howitzers
US opinion polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump virtually even ahead of the November 5 election.

More

Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland

This content was published on Around a quarter of Swiss citizens would vote for Donald Trump if they had the chance, according to a recent poll. This percentage is higher than in many other European countries.

Read more: Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR