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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made Switzerland, the home of several international organisations, a hub for Russian and Chinese espionage, the Swiss intelligence service said on Monday.
“Russia has destroyed the rules-based order for peace in Europe,” the Federal Intelligence Service, which is in charge of Switzerland’s counter-intelligence efforts, said in its annual report.
“The effectiveness of international forums for maintaining peace and security, such as the UN or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, has continued to decline; there are no signs of a stable new world order,” the FIS said.
Overall, the conflict in Ukraine has intensified the growing rivalry between major countries, which is having an influence on Switzerland’s security situation.
The FIS said that the world was moving towards a bipolar system shaped by the structural rivalry between China and the United States.
However, it stated that for the time being, Switzerland’s security climate would continue to be dominated by Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
‘Diplomats’ from Russia
The FIS stated that “the threat posed to Switzerland by foreign espionage, primarily Russian and Chinese, remains high.”
According to the report, Switzerland has one of the greatest concentrations of Russian intelligence agents operating in Europe under diplomatic cover. This is partly because Switzerland serves as a host country for numerous international bodies.
Numerous UN organisations have their regional offices in Geneva, where hundreds of diplomats frequently congregate to attend various meetings. Geneva also serves as the location of the UN’s European headquarters.
According to Christian Dussey, the head of FIS, “of the roughly 220 people accredited as diplomatic or techno-administrative staff in the Russian missions in Geneva and Bern, probably at least a third work for the Russian intelligence services.”
For its part, the Swiss secret service employs 450 people.
According to Dussey, instability in a nuclear power is inherently unsettling, which explains the “calibrated” Western reactions. But he added that there was no discussion of interfering or profiting from the circumstance.
The FIS claimed that because Russia was using these countries’ businesses for procurement, it was being forced by the conflict in Ukraine to expand its monitoring to areas that had previously received little attention, such as Turkey, India, and the Eurasian Economic Union.
Chinese news articles
The rich Alpine nation, along with Russia, is thought to have received scores of spies from China, according to Swiss intelligence.
But unlike Moscow spies, China’s agents, according to the FIS, primarily pose as scientists, journalists, or business executives to get non-diplomatic cover.
Dussey asserted that China’s intelligence operation would undoubtedly strengthen in Europe and that he thought it had expanding resources and means.
The FIS chief stated that “we are doing the maximum, on the ground, to show the lines” not to be crossed and that espionage operations had a negative effect on Geneva’s international standing and were harmful to Switzerland’s credibility.
The FIS claimed that Switzerland’s first-ever term on the UN Security Council “increases the espionage threat for Swiss individuals” who are working on the council’s dossiers and making presentations.
Regarding the lessons to be taken away from this weekend’s mutiny by the Wagner mercenary troops working in Ukraine, which threatened to weaken Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hold on power, Dussey was circumspect.
He said Russia was facing “a great internal challenge” as a result of the tragedy.
