Ukraine
Cassis: Volk would probably have the last word on asset confiscation
According to Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, no quick decisions should be made in the discussion about the confiscation of Russian assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine. In the end, the people would probably have the last word, he said in an interview.
Foreign Minister Cassis in the Swiss House at the WEF. (archive image)
It is a decision of great importance, Cassis said in an interview with the Tamedia newspapers (Friday edition). The right to property is a high good, it is in the charter of human rights. It is just as important as freedom of expression.
According to Cassis, if Russia’s assets scattered around the world are to be used to rebuild Ukraine, Switzerland is under pressure to do the same. “There is already international pressure for all states to participate, including us,” said Cassis.
The idea is controversial. In banking circles, for example, it is feared that a restriction of the property guarantee and legal certainty could be the beginning of the end of the Swiss financial center.