The new Swiss ambassador to Malta, Bernardino Regazzoni, this morning defended his country’s decision to blacklist some 180 Libyan nationals and said the action was motivated by a threat to national security.

Mr Regazzoni made his comments to timesofmalta.com after he presented his letters of credentials to President George Abela this morning.

The Swiss decision had led to retaliation by Libya, which blocked the visas of all travellers from Schengen area countries.

Malta had been among the countries which criticised the Swiss decision and questioned its legality in terms of Schengen rules.

“ The discussion over our position and how it fits into Schengen law is ongoing. We contend that it is lawful. When the black list of Libyan officials was issued, we justified it on the basis of national security. At the time the list was drawn up, two Swiss nationals were under arrest in Libya and for 52 days their whereabouts were unknown. This was a threat to our security,” the new ambassador said.

When asked whether this blacklist would be removed following recent developments, including the release of one of the Swiss nationals, the ambassador said he was not in a position to comment.

He, however, expressed gratitude to the EU for mediating on the issue.