Always Neutral. Switzerland Refuses To Treat Wounded Ukrainian Military

Switzerland has rejected a NATO request that referred to the treatment of wounded Ukrainian soldiers wounded due to the Russian invasion.

Tages Anzeiger writes this, European Pravda reports.

The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC), which operates in the NATO structure, sent a request to Switzerland for treatment of wounded soldiers, but the decision was not supported by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), led by Ignazio Cassis, who is now also the country's President.

The rejection refers to Switzerland's neutrality.

The 1949 Geneva Convention, referred to by Switzerland, states that a neutral country can treat wounded soldiers of warring states. In this case, a neutral country should ensure that soldiers "can no longer participate in hostilities" after their recovery under an agreement administered by Switzerland as a depository state.

To prevent their return to war, Switzerland might even have to interne soldiers. The only way to retreat from this rule would be if Russia allowed Ukrainian soldiers to return.

Instead of treating people in Switzerland, the country wants to help them on the spot. The FDFA decided that humanitarian assistance of the federal government would now support civilian hospitals in Ukraine.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Switzerland provided Ukraine with CHF 750,000 of assistance for the protection of cultural heritage.