ZURICH, 24 Jan. Swiss parliamentary commission has approved amendments to the legislation that will allow the re-export of weapons produced in Switzerland through third countries to Ukraine.
«The Commission on Security Policy of the National Council, by 14 votes to 11, approved the proposal and the parliamentary initiative regarding the re-export of military equipment. Applications for non-re-export can be canceled in cases of violation of the prohibition on the use of force under international law,» reads a message published on the website of the Swiss Parliament .
As noted, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict falls under this criterion.
The amendment to the law will give the Swiss government the opportunity to cancel the declaration of non-re-export by a country that has purchased military materials from the confederation. In particular, we are talking about cases where the UN Security Council declares a violation of the prohibition on the use of force provided for by international law.
At the same time, the Swiss government will be able to maintain the ban on re-exports if its cancellation would be contrary to the country's foreign policy interests.
Reportedly, most members of the commission felt that Switzerland should contribute to European security and support Ukraine. According to parliamentarians, the amendments are in line with the Swiss law on neutrality, since «they do not allow the direct export of military materials to conflict zones, but only concern declarations on non-re-export of countries that purchase Swiss military materials.»
At the same time, a minority of parliamentarians believe that the re-export of Swiss military equipment to Ukraine is problematic from the point of view of neutrality, namely the principle of equal treatment provided for by the law on neutrality.
Previously, Switzerland rejected requests from Germany, Spain and Denmark to re-export to Ukraine ammunition produced in the confederation. As the authorities stressed, Switzerland can refuse to re-export military materials if the country for which they are intended is involved in an international armed conflict.
Earlier, Russia sent a note to NATO countries because of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on 24 February. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass.