Bern, citing neutrality, prohibits Berlin from transferring Swiss-made ammunition used in the Marder infantry fighting vehicle to Kyiv. But, as the media found out, military components from Switzerland are already in use in Ukraine.
An unexpected obstacle to the supply of heavy weapons from Germany to Ukraine could be the position of the Swiss authorities. The Bern government has banned Germany from transferring Swiss-made ammunition used in the Marder infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) to Ukraine.
A representative of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) confirmed the fact of the ban, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday, April 24th.
“Seco received two requests from Germany to transfer ammunition previously produced in Switzerland to Ukraine. Both requests were answered with a negative reference to Switzerland’s neutrality and the mandatory denial criteria set by the law on owned by the military, ”the publication quoted a department representative as saying.
At the same time, as noted by the Swiss Internet portal 20min.ch, military products from Switzerland are already in the war zone: the UK has sent anti-tank weapons with Swiss warheads to Ukraine.
The British are taking advantage of a loophole in Swiss law: no special federal permit is required to export individual arms or assembly parts.
Switzerland remains neutral
Switzerland, after the start of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, supported EU sanctions against Moscow and, thus, essentially stayed away from the declared practice of political neutrality, Reuters reports.
However, at the same time, they told Bern that neutrality does not allow the supply of weapons to conflict zones. Last month, Switzerland refused to provide weapons to Poland to support Ukraine.
German gunsmiths are ready to supply BMP Marder to Ukraine
On the eve it was learned that a subsidiary of the German defense concern Rheinmetall had applied to the federal government in Berlin for permission to supply Kyiv with 100 Marder-type infantry fighting vehicles.
Heavy weapons for Ukraine. Germany is changing position
The request was received by the German Ministry of Economics and immediately transferred to the Federal Security Council. Now this body, headed by German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, will have to decide in the coming days whether Berlin is ready for the direct supply of heavy weapons from Germany to Ukraine.
According to Welt am Sonntag, this is the first application since Russia’s war against a neighboring state began.
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Source: korrespondent
