Unlike the European Union, Switzerland will not transfer to Ukraine the proceeds of frozen Russian assets held in Swiss banks.
This is stated in the response of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs to a request from Keystone-SDA.
The Swiss government has stated that its legislation and international obligations do not allow it to use any special income from the Russian Central Bank's funds at its discretion.
As of April 2024, the assets of the Russian Central Bank in the amount of about $7.9 billion remain frozen in Switzerland.
These funds are kept separately from assets owned by individuals or companies associated with Russia.
Background. As a reminder, the Kremlin has threatened ‘consequences’ if the EU transfers €1.4bn of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine for weapons. Peskov announced the legal prosecution of those involved in the decision.
Earlier, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the EU would send the first tranche of €1.4bn from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine in early August.