Swiss advised against further travel to Ukraine

Switzerland has hosted tow high-level conferences between Russia and the United States to resolve the Ukraine crisis. The photo shows the Russian delegation (left) with the Swiss delegation, in Geneva last month. © Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott

The Swiss government has advised its citizens against travelling to Ukraine, but it stopped short of asking them to leave the country.

The build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine’s border had increased tensions and the risk of an escalation, the foreign ministryExternal link said on Saturday.

There is no urgency need for Swiss citizens in Ukraine to leave the country and there are no immediate plans to evacuate the diplomatic staff, the ministry told the Keystone-SDA news agency.

However, Swiss residents in Ukraine have been advised to register with the embassy to Kyiv so they can be contacted at short notice.

The foreign ministry added it had taken note of the measures taken by the United States advising its citizens to leave Ukraine. Other western countries have done likewise since Friday.

According to latest official figures from 2020, there are 210 Swiss citizens in Ukraine.

Peaceful resolution

Switzerland has urged Russia to seek a peaceful resolution to the tensions in Ukraine.

Two recent meetings between Russia and the US in Geneva have failed to break the impasse.

Russia has positioned troops in the border region raising fears of an invasion of eastern Ukraine. For its part, Moscow has blamed western countries of interfering in the region, inviting Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance.