The Council of Cantons, the upper house of parliament, of Switzerland adopted an amendment to the law on the re-export of military goods, which should allow the supply of Swiss weapons to Ukraine by third countries.
The news was published on the Swiss government website.
22 senators voted for the relevant decision, 17 voted against, and four more abstained.
Previously, the country’s government has denied several requests for the re-export of Swiss weapons, citing neutrality and the law on military goods. Then the parliament developed several scenarios so that Switzerland would not be left with its hands tied in the face of a war in Ukraine. One of them comes from a commission of the Council of States.
The new amendment regulates the re-export of Swiss arms in general. In the future, the countries-buyers of weapons will sign declarations refusing to resell them to other countries. However, this will now be limited to 5 years for “states that share the values of Switzerland and have a comparable export control regime”.
The transfer of military goods will be allowed to countries involved in the conflict and lawfully exercising their right to self-defence in accordance with public international law.
All countries that buy Swiss weapons sign pledges not to export them without permission. The Council of Cantons agreed that countries “sharing Swiss values” should be allowed to resell weapons after five years without obtaining consent from Switzerland.
Resale, among other things, will be allowed to countries that, within the framework of a military conflict, from the point of view of international law, provide self-defense.
Now the National Council of Switzerland will have to develop and adopt a bill formalizing such re-export.
Several European countries have previously applied to Switzerland with a request to allow the transfer of Swiss weapons to Ukraine. The country’s government refused all these requests, explaining that such permission would violate neutrality.
Back in August 2022, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused this country of having “lost the status of a neutral state” against the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, due to the fact that Switzerland had joined the European sanctions against Russia.
Source: Racurs
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