Lavrov: Russia and Switzerland ended discussion on topic of espionage
The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, at a press conference with the Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis, said that Russia and Switzerland had ended their discussion on the topic of espionage in Switzerland in 2018, reports TASS news agency.
According to the Russian Minister, in November last year, Russia gave proper guarantees on the issue of espionage. "Trying to give explanations on something what we didn't do or what we are suspected of without evidence is unworthy of our relations with Switzerland," Lavrov said.
Ignazio Cassis, the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, confirmed this statement but noted that the agreement of the parties does not mean the suspension of intelligence activities. "This is not a criminal act, but it should proceed legally," the Swiss Minister replied and added that Switzerland is "neutral" regarding this topic.
Lavrov was asked about espionage after the publication of the newspaper Le Monde in early June. The newspaper claimed that the Swiss special services revealed the name of a Russian spy who helped three Russians in Lausanne to carry out a cyber-attack on the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) in 2016.