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UKRAINE

Switzerland again blocks transfer of arms, tanks to Ukraine

Switzerland insisted Friday, June 3rd, that it would not allow Swiss war materiel to be transferred via third countries to Ukraine, in line with its strict military neutrality.

Published: 4 June 2022 09:23 CEST
A man waves a Ukrainian flag in front of the Swiss House of Parliament during a national demonstration for peace and against the war in Ukraine that gathered around 10'000 participants in Swiss capital Bern, on April 2, 2022.
A man waves a Ukrainian flag in front of the Swiss House of Parliament during a national demonstration for peace and against the war in Ukraine that gathered around 10'000 participants in Swiss capital Bern, on April 2, 2022. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

However it decided that individual parts and assembly packages could be delivered to European defence companies even if they will be used to produce war materiel that might later be transferred to Ukraine.

Switzerland said it had received requests from Germany and Denmark to transfer war materiel to Ukraine.

The German request concerned around 12,400 rounds of 35-millimetre ammunition produced by Switzerland for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and for Piranha III wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs) that were originally procured by Denmark and which have been stored in Germany since they were decommissioned.

READ ALSO: Switzerland vetoes Danish military donation to Ukraine

The request made by Denmark concerns 22 Swiss-made Piranha III wheeled APCs. Under Switzerland’s War Materiel Act, export requests cannot be approved if the recipient country is in an international armed conflict.

“Given that exports of such goods from Switzerland to Ukraine cannot be approved due to the law of neutrality’s principle of equal treatment and the provisions of the War Materiel Act, it follows that it is not possible to approve the transfer of Swiss war materiel by Germany and Denmark to Ukraine,” the Federal Council government said in a statement.

The government also decided Friday on two requests by Swiss firms to export parts and assembly packages to defence companies in neighbouring Germany and Italy.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Why Switzerland rejected a German arms delivery to Ukraine

The requests concerned components for both hand-held anti-tank weapons and for anti-aircraft weapons.

“There is a risk that some of the components could be incorporated into war materiel abroad that could then be passed on to Ukraine,” the government said.

The War Materiel Act allows Swiss companies to participate in international value chains of the defence industry. In practice, the Swiss government has generally only tended to approve the export of parts and assembly packages if their share in the end product’s value remains below a certain threshold — less than 50 percent in the case of Italy or Germany.

“The Federal Council has decided to continue this practice. Exports of this kind are compatible with the law of neutrality,” it said.

Within days of Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland decided to match the neighbouring European Union’s sanctions on Moscow, breaking with the neutral Alpine country’s traditional reserve. 

Switzerland’s long-standing position is one of armed neutrality and the landlocked European country has mandatory conscription for men.

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UKRAINE

Switzerland to host Ukraine peace conference without Russian involvement

The Swiss government on Wednesday announced that it would host a high-level peace conference for Ukraine in mid-June, but said Russia would not attend.

Published: 10 April 2024 17:06 CEST
Switzerland to host Ukraine peace conference without Russian involvement

The conference will take place at the luxury Burgenstock resort near the central city of Luzern on June 15th -16th and would be hosted by Swiss President Viola Amherd.

“This is a first step in a process towards a lasting peace,” she told reporters in Bern.

Russia quickly slammed the planned conference and Amherd acknowledged that “we will not sign a peace plan at this conference”, but said she hoped “there will be a second conference”.

“We hope to start the process.”

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and is putting Ukrainian forces under new pressure, condemned the event as being part of a scheme by US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party ahead of this year’s presidential election.

“American Democrats, who need photos and videos of events that supposedly indicate their project ‘Ukraine’ is still afloat, are behind this,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

Switzerland hopes to get Russia into later talks.

The government said in January, during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that it wanted to organise a peace conference this year.

‘Support for peace’

The government said in a statement Wednesday that it “took note of the results of the exploratory phase of the high-level conference on peace in Ukraine”.

It determined that “there is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process.”

In January, Zelensky spoke of a “summit” without any Russian participation.

But traditionally neutral Switzerland wants to find a way to bring the Kremlin into the talks, and has been battling to attract China and other emerging powers.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis also tried to woo Moscow, meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York in January.

Russia, angered by the Swiss decision to follow the neighbouring European Union in imposing sanctions, has charged the country can no longer be considered neutral.

On Wednesday, Cassis acknowledged Russia’s absence from the table but stressed that the aim was to include Moscow in future talks.

“A peace process cannot happen without Russia, even though it will not be there during the first meeting,” he said.

Since deciding that it wanted to host a conference, the Swiss government said it had been “in direct contact with numerous states to explore options for initiating a peace process”.

Switzerland had held talks with G7 member states, the EU and representatives of the Global South, including China, India, South Africa and Brazil, it said.

Bern did not disclose who would be attending, but Swiss media reports said US President Joe Biden would be on the list.

The conference will be aimed at establishing “a forum for a high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter,” the government said.

“It aims to create a common understanding of a framework favourable to this objective and a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process.”

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