SHARE
COPY LINK

UKRAINE

Transfer of Swiss arms to Ukraine ‘should be permitted’, lawmakers say

A Swiss parliamentary commission voted Tuesday to request a change to the country's laws to allow its war material to be transferred via third countries to Ukraine.

Transfer of Swiss arms to Ukraine 'should be permitted', lawmakers say
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading for more help to Ukraine. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Switzerland has so far refused to allow countries that hold Swiss-made weaponry to export it on to war-ravaged Ukraine, in line with its strict
military neutrality.

Under Switzerland’s War Material Act, export requests cannot be approved if the recipient country is in an international armed conflict.

But the parliament’s security policy committee decided Tuesday, with 14 votes in favour and 11 opposed, to back a motion to request a law change to make such transfers possible.

That motion maintained it should be possible to revoke the declarations of non-reexport, which countries purchasing Swiss arms must sign, “in cases where there is a violation of the international ban on resorting to force, and specifically in the case of the Russian-Ukrainian war,” the commission said in a statement.

The Swiss government could still decide to continue barring the transfer of Swiss weaponry in cases where a repeal of the non-reexport declaration posed “major” risks to Swiss foreign policy, it said. 

The full parliament will likely need to give its approval before the change can be implemented.

The commission considered two proposals for how to move forward.

One motion involved revoking the non-reexport declaration in cases where at least two-thirds of the United Nations General Assembly determines there has been an illegal use of force.

The second entails an emergency law that would render null and void no-reexport declarations in any case where it is determined the war material
is going to Ukraine in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Such a change should be put in place swiftly, and should remain in place until the end of 2025, the statement said.

“A majority of the commission deemed that Switzerland should contribute to European security, which goes through more significant assistance to Ukraine,” it said.

The statement said a minority of the commission has voiced concern that the transfer of Swiss war material to Ukraine could jeopardise Switzerland’s neutral status.

But the majority had determined that the proposed change could be carried out in compliance with Swiss neutrality, “since it does not permit direct
exports of war material to areas in conflict,” it said.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

UKRAINE

Swiss consider using Russian assets for Ukraine reparations

Swiss lawmakers have narrowly backed moves towards allowing the use of frozen Russian state assets to fund war reparations in Ukraine.

Swiss consider using Russian assets for Ukraine reparations

The issue has been hotly debated in Switzerland, where discretion in the key banking industry and the country’s tradition of neutrality are highly valued.

The upper house of parliament on Thursday voted by 21-19 in favour of a series of government-backed motions, with three abstentions. The lower house passed them last year.

They pave the way for the government to work on an international legal basis for using frozen aggressor-state assets to pay for reparations in attacked countries.

More than $8 billion in Russian central bank reserves and assets are held in Switzerland.

“The facts are very clear indeed,” Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told parliament’s upper house.

“Russia has seriously violated international law. It must therefore repair the damage caused.

“International discussions are under way regarding compensation mechanisms and Switzerland is participating with its knowledge, its skills and all its history in this area.”

Bern will now seek to establish the international legal basis needed for a reparations mechanism to be developed at the global level.

It would be aimed at allowing frozen funds from an aggressor’s central bank, or assets of its state-owned companies, to be legally transferred to an attacked state.

Lively debate

Thursday’s vote followed a lively debate in the upper chamber.

There was concern about whether Switzerland’s image on neutrality might be harmed, and whether Switzerland was doing enough when there was war in Europe.

Cassis argued that since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Switzerland had supported the affected populations with around three billion Swiss francs ($3.4 billion).

The government also aims to spend around 1.5 billion Swiss francs on Ukraine and the region between 2025 and 2028. Switzerland also plans to host a peace conference later this year.

“We don’t have to blush when we talk about Ukraine on the international stage,” Cassis said, whether it was on the financial, diplomatic or humanitarian front.

Switzerland’s long-standing position is one of well-armed military neutrality.

It has refused to send arms to Kyiv or allow countries that hold Swiss-made weaponry to re-export it to Ukraine.

But it has matched the European Union’s economic sanctions on Russia.

The economic affairs ministry said in May last year that 7.4 billion Swiss francs of Russian central bank reserves and assets were being held in Switzerland.

Switzerland has also frozen 7.5 billion Swiss francs in Russian funds and assets owned or controlled by sanctioned persons, companies or entities, the ministry said at the time.

The country is a long-favoured destination for wealthy Russians and their assets.

The Swiss Bankers Association estimated that in March 2022, Russian clients held approximately 150 billion Swiss francs in banks in Switzerland.

SHOW COMMENTS