“Swiss weapons must not be used in wars,” President Alain Berset said in an interview on 12 March, accusing opponents of engaging in “war frenzy” and calling for a rapid diplomatic solution to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Swiss laws require the government's permission to re-sell and re-gift Swiss-made weapons, and those may not be sent into active war zones. Meanwhile, German, French, and Dutch diplomats lobbied to allow stocks of Swiss-made weapons they hold - particularly anti-aircraft shells for Gepard flak cannons - to be sent to support Ukraine’s war effort, FT wrote.
Switzerland keeps neutrality policy, barring weapons exports to UkraineSome Swiss politicians have asked for a change in their country’s stance. Moreover, FT says, a poll published earlier the month, found that 55% of the Swiss supported the arms re-exports to Ukraine.
“It is precisely because we are neutral and do not allow the transfer of weapons to war zones that we can do a great deal for this continent,” President Berset told NZZ. “Pacifism has a bad reputation right now, but warfare is not part of the Swiss DNA.”
Read also:Swiss president Alain Berset opposes arms exports to Ukraine, citing neutrality
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 8, 2023
Switzerland bars re-export of its weaponry to nations at war, but the issue of the country's neutrality tradition has been debated since Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.https://t.co/RAOLdyzGiJ
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