Swiss President Alain Berset has supported the controversial ban on the transfer of Swiss weapons to Ukraine, RBC-Ukraine reports citing The Guardian.
“Swiss weapons must not be used in wars,” Berset stated.
According to the media outlet, Switzerland, which is not an EU member, has followed the bloc’s lead on sanctions targeting Moscow, but it has so far shown less flexibility on its military neutrality.
Despite pressure from Kyiv and its allies, Switzerland has continued to block countries that hold Swiss-made weaponry from re-exporting it to Ukraine.
To date, requests from Germany, Spain and Denmark have been rejected under the War Materiel Act, which bars all re-export if the recipient country is in an international armed conflict.
Berset said the policy was based on “commitment to peace, to humanitarian law, to mediation where possible”.
Switzerland has reportedly definitively refused to re-export ammunition to Ukraine and is disposing of serviceable anti-aircraft weapons, which could have helped Ukraine counter Russian aggression.