Swiss publications Le Matin Dimanche and Sonntags Zeitung have reported that the French president, through the ambassador, informed the Swiss authorities about the cancellation of a meeting scheduled for November. The preparation for it took six months. In addition, the French leader allegedly banned all high-level bilateral contacts with Switzerland until the summer of 2022.
As per the media, the reason is the cancellation of the MoU for the supply of French Rafale fighters. Switzerland has already announced its decision to purchase American F-35 fighters.
Under the contract, Switzerland will receive 36 fifth-generation American aircraft. The deal is worth about $ 6.5 billion.
The French and Swiss authorities denied press reports about the cancellation of the visit. According to the French government, “(the meeting) has never been cancelled, especially for the reasons voiced.”
Both the countries also denied scheduling the meeting in November. The French say they had reported back in the summer that it would have been difficult to negotiate in November. In turn, the Swiss authorities reported that the president’s schedule had not yet been approved, and in general, it was not a state visit but a working trip.
The news comes after a serious disagreement between France, on the one hand, and with Australia and the United States (and to a lesser extent with Great Britain), on the other, after the cancellation of the contract for the construction of 12 submarines.