President Alain Berset on Tuesday rejected calls for Switzerland to allow ammunition exports to Ukraine, citing the country’s long-held principle of neutrality, SIA refers to foreign media.
Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Berset said his government strongly condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine and regards it as a grave violation of international law.
He also underlined that Switzerland cannot provide military support to either side in a conflict, due to its neutrality and corresponding laws.
“One cannot ask us to break our own laws. No one cannot ask us to do that,” Berset said, but acknowledged that there is an ongoing debate within the country on the issue.
Switzerland adopted parts of the EU sanctions against Russia, including the freezing of Russian assets, but it rejected requests from Germany, Denmark, and Spain to re-export Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine.
Swiss lawmakers are rethinking what it means to be neutral amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine — although change might come too late for Kyiv.
In Bern, sending weapons doesn’t just depend on a political decision from the top, but also legal issues and a secular commitment to neutrality.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has repeatedly told that "the conflict in Ukraine would have ended long ago if it were not for the West", of course, with the victory of the Russians.
According to Lavrov, the West does not want to stop the conflict in Ukraine.
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