Switzerland may allow third countries to transfer their weapons to Ukraine

By law, Switzerland prohibits the re-export of weapons to belligerent countries, but most members of the Security Policy Commission of the Swiss National Council believe that allowing re-exports would not violate Swiss neutrality, because Switzerland itself would not supply weapons directly to Ukraine.

Members of the commission propose amending Article 18 of the Military Material Act (KMG) so that the Federal Council (Swiss government - ed.) could declare a declaration of non-re-export by a country that has purchased Swiss military material.

The information published on the website of the Swiss parliament said:

The Security Policy Commission of the Swiss National Council (SiK-N) adopted the submission and the parliamentary initiative on re-export of military equipment by 14 votes to 11. Non-export declarations should be able to be revoked in cases where the ban on the use of force under international law is violated, in particular in the case of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

If the law is changed, re-exports would be possible from 1 May and would initially be valid until the end of 2025.