Switzerland May Ease Weapons Re-Export Rules - Parliament

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Switzerland may soften its weapons re-export ban for countries that share the same values, the Security Policy Commission of the Council of States, the upper house of the Swiss parliament, said on Tuesday.

In recent months, Bern has several times banned Germany and Denmark from supplying Swiss-made ammunition and military vehicles to Ukraine referring to a so called non-re-export declaration, prohibiting the re-export of Swiss war materials.

“Consideration should be given to the possibility that countries which share our values and whose export control regime is comparable to ours could be exempted from providing a declaration of non-re-export [of weapons], at least in the case where this re-export takes place to another country fulfilling the same criteria,” the commission said in a statement.

According to the statement, the majority of the commission members believe that this measure would not contradict the principle of neutrality and will boost the country’s industry and technological development.

“A minority [of members] considers that the current regulations have proven their worth and that a relaxation entails a significant risk of circumvention. It wants to prevent Swiss weapons from ending up in countries at war as much as possible,” the statement read.

The commission added that it would look at this issue once again at the beginning of 2023.

Earlier in the day, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis reaffirmed that Bern, while remaining an important partner to Kiev, would not supply Ukraine with weapons.

After Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, Western countries have been supplying Kiev with weapons and military equipment. Switzerland, in line with the principle of neutrality, is providing Ukraine with direct aid specifically tailored for humanitarian purposes.

Moscow has warned the West against further involvement in the conflict, while the EU, the US and NATO have maintained that they are not party to the hostilities despite training Ukrainian soldiers, sending their instructors and hardware to Ukraine, and providing intelligence.