The deputy of the right-wing conservative Swiss People's Party, Jean-Luc Addor, said that the adoption of the initiative would mean a step in favor of one of the parties.
GENEVA, June 2. /tass/. Deputies of the National Council (Grand Chamber) of the Swiss parliament rejected the initiative of the parliamentary commission on Security policy, which proposed to allow, contrary to the neutral status of the country, the re-export of weapons to Ukraine. 98 votes were cast against this proposal, 75 in favor, the press service of the Federal Assembly (Parliament) reported on Thursday evening.
"There will be no law allowing the re-export of Swiss weapons to Ukraine. The National Council rejected the parliamentary initiative submitted by the commission by 98 votes to 75," the message reads.
"The adoption of this initiative would mean a step in favor of one of the parties," said Jean-Luc Addor, a member of the right-wing conservative Swiss People's Party (SNP), which is part of the government and has the largest faction in parliament. Earlier, the security commission of the Council of Cantons (small chamber) of the Parliament spoke out against this initiative.
Due to its neutral status, Switzerland does not export weapons to Ukraine and prohibits the re-export of Swiss-made weapons sold to other states to conflict zones. The government of the country on March 10 confirmed the ban on re-export. At the same time, discussions on this issue have been going on in Parliament for a long time. In particular, the proposal of the Commission on Security Policy of the National Council is being discussed to allow the re-export of weapons to one of the States parties to a conflict if the UN Security Council or the General Assembly declare by two-thirds of the votes that another State participating in the conflict has violated international law. The lifting of the ban on re-export is mainly supported by deputies from left-wing parties. In November 2022, the SNP and its political allies initiated the collection of signatures for holding a referendum in favor of stricter adherence to the policy of neutrality and enshrining in the constitution a ban on the imposition of sanctions that have not been approved by the UN Security Council.
In November 2022, the Swiss government did not allow Germany to re-export ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled guns to Ukraine. Spain also did not receive permission to re-export weapons. In 2022, Denmark also received a negative response from Bern to a request for re-export, intending to supply Kiev with 20 multi-purpose wheeled armored vehicles of Swiss production Piranha III.
Switzerland, which is not a member of NATO and the EU, supports EU sanctions against Russia imposed in connection with a special military operation in Ukraine. In March 2022, the Russian government approved a list of foreign states and territories that commit unfriendly actions against Russia, its companies and citizens. The Swiss Confederation is included in this list.
