Swiss Govt. Introduces Exemptions To Sanctions Against Russia

The Federal Council announced Wednesday that Switzerland has joined the EU's tenth package of sanctions against Russia, with a series of exemptions.

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"After deciding on March 3 to facilitate humanitarian activities in Syria, the Federal Council has now issued a humanitarian exemption for the provision of certain services to Russian organizations," reads a statement on the Swiss government portal. 

This is "the possibility to authorize the transfer of funds or economic resources to sanctioned individuals, companies or organizations, on a case-by-case basis, if deemed necessary to protect Swiss interests."

There are also exemptions from sanctions for the Rossiya Segodnya media group, as Switzerland does not plan to ban it from reporting. However, it will be banned from advertising in the country, Erik Reumann, spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Economics, told RIA Novosti.

The decision is due to the need to prevent the shares of two Swiss companies from passing into the hands of sanctioned Russian banks, the statement said.

The tenth package of sanctions against Russia brings the total number of blacklisted entities to 205, while 1 473 individuals face travel bans and asset freezes.