Global Courant
The Alpine nation’s top intelligence agency says at least a third of Russia’s 220 accredited officials are likely spies.
Switzerland’s main intelligence agency, the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), says Moscow’s invasion of Moscow has turned the country into an espionage hotspot, with at least a third of the 220 officials Russia accredited in the country suspected of being spies. are.
While Russian espionage elsewhere in Europe and North America was weakened by expulsions, Russian agents continued to operate in Bern, the Swiss capital, and at Moscow’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva, the FIS said in its annual report.
“Switzerland is one of the states in Europe with the highest number of Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover, in part because of its role as a host to international organizations,” the report, published Monday, said.
The UN has its European headquarters in Geneva and the city is also home to several UN agencies and international organizations. Hundreds of diplomats are stationed in the city or regularly gather there for important meetings.
“Of the approximately 220 people accredited as diplomatic or techno-administrative personnel in the Russian missions in Geneva and Bern, at least a third probably work for the Russian intelligence services,” FIS chief Christian Dussey told a news conference.
The Swiss intelligence service, which has 450 personnel, said the war in Ukraine forced it to expand its surveillance to areas that had previously received little attention, such as Turkey and India, because Russia used companies in such countries for purchases.
While China also reportedly has dozens of spies on its diplomatic missions in Switzerland, their number is significantly less than Russia’s, the agency said.
Chinese agents rely more on non-diplomatic cover, according to the FIS, and are officially described mostly as scientists, journalists or businessmen.
Dussey said he expected China’s intelligence operation to grow stronger in Europe, bolstered by growing resources.
“We are doing everything we can to show the border on the ground” so as not to be crossed, the FIS chief said, adding that espionage operations negatively affected Geneva’s international interest and damaged Switzerland’s credibility .
The FIS also noted that the security picture had been tarnished by the growing rivalry between the world’s major powers, which had been intensified by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia has destroyed the rules-based order for peace in Europe,” the FIS said.
“The effectiveness of international fora for maintaining peace and security, such as the UN or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has continued to decline; there are no signs of a stable new world order.”
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