Reuters: Switzerland came close to lifting the ban on arms transfers to Ukraine

Switzerland is close to lifting the ban on the transfer of Swiss-made weapons to Ukraine.

Reuters writes about it.

Buyers of Swiss weapons are now prohibited from re-exporting them, a restriction that some in the countryʼs arms industry say is hurting trade. In addition, Switzerlandʼs European neighbors are increasingly calling on the country to allow the transfer of weapons to Kyiv. However, Swiss lawmakers are divided on this issue.

Center-right FDP leader Thierry Burkart has asked the government to allow the re-export of weapons to countries with democratic values similar to Switzerlandʼs.

"We want to be neutral, but we are part of the Western world," he argued.

According to Burkart, Switzerland cannot have a veto to stop other countries from providing aid to Ukraine. Otherwise, it would mean supporting Russia, which is not neutrality.

More and more voters in Switzerland agree with this position. A Sotomo poll published on February 5 showed that 55% of respondents support the re-export of weapons to Ukraine.

Burkart also said that he had received positive signals about changing the law from other parties. The Swiss government, in turn, declared that it would not interfere with parliamentary discussions.

"Bern adheres to the existing legal framework... and will consider the proposals in due course," said a spokesman for the Department of Economic Affairs, which oversees the arms trade.

• Switzerlandʼs neutrality is one of the main principles of the countryʼs foreign policy, which states that Switzerland has no right to participate in armed or political conflicts between other states. However, after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine , Switzerland joined the EU sanctions.
• Due to its neutrality, Switzerland did not supply weapons to any of the belligerent countries either in World War I or World War II.