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Switzerland stands firm on war materiel re-export ban

Leopard tank
Several countries have asked Switzerland to allow them to send war materiel to Ukraine. Keystone / Filip Singer

The Swiss government has again rebuffed demands from other countries to allow them to export Swiss-made armaments to Ukraine.

In the last 12 months, Germany, Spain and Denmark have asked Switzerland to relax its re-export ban to help Ukraine fight Russian invaders.

+ How the Ukraine war has changed Switzerland

The Swiss War Materiel Act forbids the export of Swiss armaments to countries embroiled in civil war or in armed conflict with another state.

“This position is based…also on the values held by Switzerland, its neutrality, tradition of humanitarian aid, commitment to international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, and its international practice of mediation in the service of peace,” the government stated on Friday.

The statement follows a decision by parliament earlier this week to retain the ban on exporting Swiss armaments to war zones.

The government said it would monitor further debates in parliament on the issue.

“Switzerland’s tradition of neutrality does not equate to indifference towards Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” the government reiterated.

Switzerland has followed the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russia and has frozen some CHF7.5 billion ($8 billion) of oligarch assets.

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