Swiss Defence Minister: Switzerland condemns Russia’s aggression despite its neutral status

This was stated by Federal Councillor Martin Pfister, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport in his address at the Swiss Defence Industry Day in Brussels, Ukrinform reports.

“Switzerland is a neutral country and law of neutrality imposes the following constraints on our country: we cannot be part of any military alliance; we are not allowed to provide direct military support to parties involved in an international armed conflict; and, finally, as regards the export of war materiel by private companies, Switzerland is bound by the principle of equal treatment. This means that any restriction applied to one warring party regarding the private export of war materiel also has to be applied equally to the other warring parties. However – and I want to make this clear – neutrality does not mean that we are indifferent to violations of international law. Switzerland strongly condemns Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine,” he said.

The minister stressed that Switzerland has joined the EU sanctions against Russia and supports the Ukrainian people “through non-military means.”

According to Pfister, the Swiss government has also determined that “the export of parts and components to private companies in European countries is compatible with Swiss neutrality, even if they could be used for the production of war materiel for Ukraine.”

In addition, the Swiss parliament is currently working on updating the military materials law “to allow greater flexibility in authorizing the export and re-export of war material, even to countries involved in international armed conflicts in certain cases.”

As reported earlier, Switzerland is discussing a legal amendment that would grant the Federal Council greater flexibility in exporting military equipment to certain countries while still upholding international obligations. In particular, the Federal Council wants to allow other states greater freedom to transfer Swiss-made weapons or ammunition to countries of their choosing.

Weapons manufacturers in Germany and the Netherlands have threatened to boycott Swiss companies because the Federal Council prohibits the transfer of Swiss military equipment to Ukraine. NATO countries fear that in the event of a Russian attack on an Alliance member, all member states, as parties to the war, would be unable to receive supplies from Switzerland.

In 2022, due to Swiss rules prohibiting the re-export of military materials containing more than 50% Swiss-made components, Germany’s partner countries were unable to transfer to Ukraine certain types of weapons it urgently needed.

In June 2023, Switzerland rejected a law allowing the re-export of weapons to Ukraine. The lower house of parliament – the National Council – voted down the bill known as Lex Ukraine, which would have permitted third countries to transfer Swiss-made weapons to Ukraine.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine