Today, there are seven permanently neutral countries generally recognized by the international community: Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Austria, Costa Rica and Turkmenistan. Among these 7 countries, Switzerland is the most famous, not only because of its own comprehensive strength, but more importantly, because Switzerland is the first country in the world to declare neutrality.
What people did not expect was that in the Russo-Ukrainian War, Switzerland publicly stated that it would impose economic sanctions on Russia. It is very difficult to understand that Switzerland, which has been neutral for 200 years, is no longer neutral. What are the reasons for making this decision and repenting of their neutral attitude? All this starts with the neutrality of Switzerland.
The origin of Swiss neutrality
In fact, until 1515, the Swiss Confederation had adopted an "expansionist" policy. In that era, the Swiss were able to fight well, and even defeated the Holy Roman Emperors Leopold I and Leopold III. In this situation, European countries began to appreciate the Swiss army, and even used the prevailing mercenary system to attract Switzerland to sign employment agreements with itself.
But as the saying goes, if you walk at night for a long time, you will always encounter "ghosts". When Switzerland was involved in the Battle of Marignano between France and Italy, France and Italy lost the same, but the Swiss mercenaries of the two countries suffered heavy losses, which made Switzerland very distressed. So after the end of this war, Switzerland had the idea of neutrality. With its own geographical conditions and the fact that there were Swiss mercenaries in various countries, this idea finally became a reality.
Swiss neutral authenticity
In terms of the relevant wars before World War II, Switzerland did achieve the principle of neutrality. But was Switzerland really neutral during World War II? Maybe it has to be put in quotation marks. The main reason for this is that Switzerland, in order not to anger Germany and ensure its own safety, is completely two extremes in the face of Germany and Jews.
According to relevant information, by the beginning of World War II, Switzerland had blocked the entry of more than 100,000 Jews into the border areas. But when Germany asked for a loan, Switzerland was very generous. Not only that, but many of the precision instruments needed for German war machines were constantly provided by Switzerland. From this, it can be seen that Switzerland's neutrality is not completely neutral, but only to ensure that it is not involved in the war.
Swiss remorse
After understanding the nature of Switzerland's neutrality, I believe that everyone can understand the incident of Switzerland's sudden economic sanctions against Russia. As long as a certain benefit can be derived from a certain international event, then neutrality is only a gimmick. But Switzerland did not expect that when it made its own decision, the credibility of the entire country would disappear.
Not long after the Swiss team, a large number of depositors began to transfer their deposits out of Swiss banks for security reasons, which finally made Switzerland unable to sit still any longer. Once more than a certain percentage of the amount disappears from Swiss banks, Switzerland will certainly encounter difficulties in the subsequent development. In order to remedy this, although Switzerland announced the lifting of sanctions in a very short period of time, it was basically ineffective.