The passage of troops or weapons from European countries through Switzerland would violate the country’s neutrality obligations, and parliament would object to this, Mauro Poggia, a Swiss senator from the largest party in the country’s parliament, the Democratic Union of the Center (DUC) said.
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“The passage of European weapons and troops through Swiss territory would be a flagrant violation of neutrality, and parliament will never agree to this. As for the amendment to the arms export law, a relaxation raises questions, but is not necessarily incompatible with the principle of neutrality,” he said.
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Poggia added that the question arises as to whether Swiss weapons sold to a country should still be considered Swiss five or more years after their sale.
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Previously, Switzerland, citing the principle of military neutrality, rejected requests from Germany, Spain and Denmark to re-export ammunition produced in the confederation to Ukraine. In an interview with the French magazine Challenges in January, the Russian founder of the Swiss startup Destinus, Mikhail Kokorich, who renounced his citizenship, said that his company was selling hundreds of drones to Ukraine. In early February, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO announced that it was in the process of clarifying this issue. Destinus did not respond to requests for comment. Several other investigations have shown that Ukraine could have obtained Swiss weapons and armored vehicles through indirect routes since 2022.
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The Democratic Union of the Center is the largest party in the Swiss National Council, with 62 seats out of 200. The party opposes Switzerland’s entry into the EU and NATO, because it believes that the country’s neutrality should be strict. The UDC also opposes sanctions against Russia and the supply of Swiss weapons to Ukraine.
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Switzerland is not a member of the EU or NATO, but Bern has joined almost all European sanctions against the Russian Federation since February 24, 2022. The Swiss military will take part in 20 exercises outside its territory and four on its territory in 2024, all of them conducted with the participation of NATO countries.
