The Swiss Federal Council has made an announcement that after two and a half months of the temporary closure of its embassy in Ukraine, Switzerland has planned to reopen it.
In a statement issued on May 19, the Federal Council also stated that five employees of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) would return to Kyiv in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the decision is based on an analysis of the security situation in the Ukrainian capital.
“In light of this analysis, President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis, also head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), decided to have Switzerland’s representation there reopened,” the statement reads.
According to the Council, Ambassador Claude Wild will be back during the first phase with a team of four transferable staff.
The Swiss Embassy will also continue to employ local Ukrainian staff.
“The physical presence of the Swiss ambassador and his team will facilitate contact with the Ukrainian authorities, which is also important given the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2022) to be held in Lugano on 4 and 5 July,” the statement also explains.
In the following weeks, the embassy team is set to deal with key issues regarding the reconstruction and development projects in the country, offering humanitarian aid as well as help for media coverage of the situation in Ukraine.