Swiss neutrality is misunderstood in Ukraine, says Swiss ambassador

Swiss President Ignazio Cassis travelled to Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 20 where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

People in Ukraine do not understand the Swiss concept of neutrality, says Claude Wild, Switzerland’s ambassador to Ukraine.

In Ukraine you have to constantly explain to people Switzerland’s position and its stance on neutrality, Wild told ArcInfo, Le Nouvelliste and La Liberté newspapers in an interview published on Monday.

“And sometimes people get annoyed,” he declared, pointing to Ukrainian bloggers who are “extremely critical” of Switzerland.

The Alpine country has come under pressure recently to review its veto over the re-export of Swiss-made tank ammunition that Germany wants to send to Ukraine. Last week the Swiss government again rejected an appeal from Berlin to allow it to re-export Swiss-made ammunition to the war-torn country.

“Under the principle of equal treatment in neutrality law, Switzerland cannot agree to a request for the transfer of war materiel of Swiss origin to Ukraine as long as the latter is involved in an international armed conflict,” the government saidExternal link on Thursday.

Neutral Switzerland requires countries that buy Swiss arms to seek permission to re-export them. According to Swiss law, exports of war materiel must be refused if the country of destination is involved in an international armed conflict. The government says its legal situation “remains unchanged”.

Meanwhile, Switzerland announced a fresh financial aid package of CHF100 million ($100 million) for the country last week.

“The more our humanitarian aid is effective, the better we are understood,” said Wild.

The Swiss embassy in Kyiv, like other diplomatic representations, was forced to close at the end of February after the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to fears of the capital coming under prolonged shelling. It reopened in May.