Cassis says Swiss neutrality will continue after voters reject initiative

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis says voters’ rejection of a neutrality initiative confirms the country’s existing policy, SRF reported. He said the vote showed that the public wanted to preserve Switzerland’s current neutrality rather than enshrine a new definition in the constitution.

“We were neutral, we are neutral and we will remain neutral,” Cassis said. He added that the result gave the government and parliament room to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, arguing that each war and crisis requires a different response.

Cassis said he had spoken with about 40 ministers at the UN General Assembly in New York the previous week and believed foreign governments understood what the vote meant. He said Swiss ambassadors abroad and foreign ambassadors in Switzerland were also doing their jobs well.

Asked whether the result meant Switzerland should support sanctions against Israel, Cassis said the government would have to back them if the UN imposed them. He said the Swiss constitution left the Federal Council no choice in that situation.

Cassis rejected any suggestion that the vote predicted the outcome of a future referendum on the treaty package with the EU. Parliamentary debate on the package is due to begin in the Council of States, a parliamentary chamber, on Monday. Cassis said he hoped to campaign for it himself, depending on how quickly parliament proceeds.