Switzerland has resisted growing demands to allow other countries to send munitions to Ukraine that have been manufactured in the Alpine state.
The government and parliament maintain that this would involve Switzerland in the armed conflict and violate its stance of political neutrality.
But Wild, who served as ambassador to Kyiv between 2019 and the end of last year, warns against falling into “neutrality fetishism”.
This includes the question of weapons re-exports. “We must ask whether this policy is actually in Switzerland’s security interests,” the diplomat said.
Under current law, arms purchased in Switzerland by another country must not be passed on to third parties. This policy has been strongly criticised at home and abroad as notably Germany, Denmark as well as Spain want to supply Ukraine with weapons and ammunition originating from Switzerland.
Last year, when he was still ambassador to Ukraine, Wild emphasised the difference between neutrality and indifference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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German ammunition plant to sidestep Swiss re-export ban
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Weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall to build factory in Germany as Switzerland refuses to allow its ammunition to be re-exported to Ukraine.
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Ambassador: Switzerland has clear position in Ukraine
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Claude Wild says the Swiss stance on the conflict is clearly in support of Kyiv, and that the Russian aggression is “illegal and illegitimate”.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.