The Geneva police, taking into account the experience of the USSR-USA summit in 1985, requested additional assistance from neighboring cantons for the meeting of the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, said Geneva police chief Colonel Monica Bonifanti.
The meeting between Putin and Biden is scheduled for June 16.
“We realized that we could not cope on our own, and therefore we asked for help from the police of neighboring cantons. We remembered the experience of the 1985 summit, when Reagan and Gorbachev met, and therefore asked for additional help”, – she said at a press conference.
According to her, 900 police officers will be stationed in Geneva from Monday. In addition, a military battalion will be on duty at the Geneva airport, while the rest of the 1 thousand people allocated by the authorities will help guard the canton’s borders.
Bonifanti noted that each of the delegations from Russia and the United States will arrive in the composition of 600 to 800 people. In addition, about 300 journalists will be accommodated in the press center opposite La Grange Park.
In addition, Deputy Director of the Federal Police Office Stephan Teimer said at a briefing in Geneva that Switzerland believes that the level of terrorist threat in the world remains high and took measures in anticipation of the meeting between the leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.
“It is necessary to take into account that the threat of terrorism remains high in Switzerland and other countries. This was taken into account. Diasporas of both countries can also seize the moment to make certain demarches. Therefore, the level of threat during the summit remains high”, – he said.