The Swiss Government confirmed this Friday, under its policy of neutrality, that it will not allow Spain to transfer two Swiss-made anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine, after receiving this request on January 16.
In a statement, the federal Ministry of Economy, in charge of processing this request that concerned 35mm cannons, confirmed the rejection, since Swiss law does not allow the re-export of their arms products to countries that are at war.
“The Swiss Parliament has taken up the issue of re-exports and is currently discussing various proposals to adjust the legal framework,” adds the Swiss government after this veto on the donation of weapons to Ukraine to face the Russian military offensive.
Switzerland had previously denied similar re-export requests to Denmark and Germany, which last year had also requested to transfer Swiss weapons to Ukraine to help it in its response to the Russian invasion.
The situation is comparable to the fact that Spain avoided sending German-licensed Leopard tanks to Ukraine until Germany confirmed that it would send them.
We respect the decisions of the governments, they have limited themselves to pointing out sources from the Spanish Ministry of Defense when asked about the decision of the Swiss Government. Defense Minister Margarita Robles already announced last January that Switzerland was blocking the shipment of material to Ukraine in a talk with Spanish ambassadors. “We understand, respect and accept neutrality, but for a material we need some authorization from Switzerland that it is not giving us at this time,” Robles revealed at the time.
