Switzerland close to lifting ban on arming Ukraine

Switzerland is close to lifting the ban on exports of domestic weapons to Ukraine, Reuters informs.

Buyers of Swiss arms are legally prohibited from re-exporting them, a restriction that some in the country's major arms industry believe is detrimental to trade.

Calls from Switzerland's European neighbours to allow such transfers to Kyiv have meanwhile grown louder as Russia's assault intensifies, and parliament's two security committees recommended that the rules be eased accordingly.

Lawmakers are divided on the issue.

"We want to be neutral, but we are part of the western world," said Thierry Burkart, leader of the centre-right FDP party, who has submitted a motion to the government to allow arms re-exports to countries with similar democratic values to Switzerland.

Under Swiss neutrality, which dates back to 1815 and is enshrined by a treaty in 1907, Switzerland will not send weapons directly or indirectly to combatants in a war. It operates a separate embargo on arms sales to Ukraine and Russia.

Third countries can in theory apply to Bern to re-export Swiss weapons they have in their stocks, but permission is almost always denied.

"We shouldn't have the veto to stop others from helping Ukraine. If we do that, we support Russia which is not a neutral position," Burkart said.

"Other countries want to support Ukraine and do something for the security and stability of Europe... They cannot understand why Switzerland has to say no."

Increasing numbers of Swiss voters agree. A survey by pollsters Sotomo published on Sunday showed 55 per cent of respondents favour allowing weapons re-exports to Ukraine.

"If we had asked this question before the war..., the response would have probably been less than 25 per cent. Talking about changing neutrality was a taboo in the past," said Lukas Golder, co-director of pollsters GFS-Bern.