Switzerland opposes the export of weapons to Ukraine, - President Berset
On the sidelines of meetings at the United Nations, Swiss President Alain Berse said that his country, as before, opposes arms exports to war-torn Ukraine.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to European Pravda.
"Discussion about the export of arms, armaments... as long as we have (our) legislative framework in Switzerland, this is impossible," said Berset, who currently serves as the country's president on a rotating basis for one year.
Switzerland prohibits the re-export of Swiss weapons to countries at war, but the country's long tradition of neutrality has been debated since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"For the government and for the Federal Council, we must, and we want, to support this legal framework and work within this legal framework," he said.
His comments came after Berlin asked Switzerland in late February to allow German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall to buy old Swiss Leopard tanks, with guarantees that they would not be transferred to Ukraine.
Despite pressure from Kyiv and its allies, Switzerland has so far refused to allow countries that own Swiss-made weapons to re-export them to Ukraine and has so far rejected direct requests from Germany, Spain, and Denmark.
Several initiatives to loosen re-export rules are under consideration in parliament, but any decision is likely to be months away.
Berse, who met in New York with the head of the UN Antonio Guterres just before the Secretary General's trip to Ukraine, noted that the Swiss parliament "has many opportunities to change laws."
"If the parliament agrees to change this legal framework, then we will work in the context of this new legal framework, but we will also need time," he said.
But, he emphasized, "exceptions cannot be made from the legal framework."
