In Switzerland, the debate continues on the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
According to Reuters, the country is approaching a decision to lift the ban on the transfer of Swiss-made weapons to Kyiv, although this contradicts the centuries-old tradition of neutrality.
Recently, the Swiss government has been increasingly called upon to lift the ban on the supply of weapons to Kyiv, although there is still no consensus in parliament on this matter.
The agency refers to one of the supporters of the transfer of weapons to Ukraine – the leader of the centre-right Free Democratic Party of Switzerland, Thierry Burkart.
He recently proposed a bill that would allow the government to allow the re-export of Swiss arms to countries with the same democratic values as Switzerland.
We want to be neutral, but we are part of the Western world, Burkart told Reuters. “We should not use a veto that will lead to the fact that Ukraine will not be able to help others. If we do this, then we will help Russia in this way, and this is not a neutral position.
Other states want to support Ukraine and do something for the security and stability of Europe. They don’t understand why Switzerland says no, he added.
Reuters also cites data from a recent sociological study, according to which 55% of Swiss are in favor of lifting the ban on the re-export of weapons and their supplies to Ukraine.
If we had asked this before the war, the support level would probably have been less than 25%. In the past, the rejection of neutrality was a taboo subject, Lukas Golder, head of the GFS-Bern sociological company, told the agency.
In recent months, Bern has refused to allow Germany and Denmark to supply Ukraine with Swiss armored vehicles and air defense systems.
As Reuters notes, some in Switzerland fear that the current bans are hurting the local arms industry, which, in particular, includes local divisions of the international companies Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall. In 2021, Switzerland sold 800 million francs ($876 million) in arms and ranked among the top 15 arms producers in the world.
According to the head of the association of the Swiss military industry Stefan Brupbacher, due to the ban on the re-export of weapons to Ukraine, some enterprises “lost contracts and no longer invest in Switzerland.” “The current situation weakens our security policy, undermines the credibility of our foreign policy and hurts our companies,” he says.
However, some Swiss politicians still oppose the supply of weapons to Ukraine. These include the left-wing Green Party and part of the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP).
Lifting the ban on the supply of weapons to a country involved in an armed conflict destroys the foundation of peace and prosperity in our state, says SVP MP David Zuberbuler.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.