But Switzerland “also benefits from the security that its neighbours provide with NATO,” Michael Flügger said in an interview published on Friday by newspapers ArcInfo, Le Nouvelliste and La Liberté.
Switzerland has previously rejected appeals from Germany to allow it to re-export Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine, saying such a move would violate its neutrality. On January 11 Spain also said Switzerland was refusing to allow it to re-export war materiel to Ukraine. But pressure has been rising for Bern to review its policies, including at the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF) it recently hosted in Davos.
“We are only talking about re-exports of ammunition produced in Switzerland and bought by Germany 20 years ago, for anti-aircraft and therefore defensive systems,” ambassador Flügger told the Swiss newspapers. “Nobody was asking Switzerland to deliver arms to Ukraine.”
He also notes that Switzerland is contributing to the reconstruction of Ukraine. “But is it really logical to wait until the infrastructure is destroyed before acting?” he asks. The ambassador warned that if ever Germany had to enter a conflict, it would have “no time to lose in negotiating authorisations from Switzerland for the ammunition it has already bought”.
A Swiss parliamentary committee on Tuesday proposed waiving the controversial re-export ban that prevents Swiss-made ammunition from being re-exported from another country to Ukraine. The recommendation passed with 14 in favour and 11 against and will require approval from parliament.
External Content
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
The citizenship obstacle course facing spouses of Swiss Abroad
This content was published on
The Ethos Foundation recommends that shareholders vote against all compensation-related items at the Annual General Meeting on March 7.
Top Swiss firms close to reaching gender quota in boards
This content was published on
The proportion of women on the boards of directors of the fifty largest listed companies in Switzerland currently stands at 28%.
Swiss committee wants to end government resignations during legislative term
This content was published on
Members of the Federal Council should no longer be able to leave office before the end of their term, according to a House of Representatives committee.
Swiss government seat: Ritter and Pfister nominated to succeed Amherd
This content was published on
Markus Ritter from St Gallen and Martin Pfister from Zug were officially nominated by the Centre Party on Friday to succeed Defence Minister Viola Amherd.
Top Swiss court rejects Russian request for administrative tax assistance
This content was published on
There is currently no reason to transmit banking information to the Russian Federation, the Swiss Federal Court has ruled.
After strike by radiologists, doctors demonstrate in Bern
This content was published on
Following a strike by radiology technicians in Fribourg, doctors, vets, dentists and chiropractors expressed their frustration on Friday outside parliament in the Swiss capital.
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.
Read more
More
Swiss body proposes removing barriers to re-export arms to Ukraine
This content was published on
A Swiss committee has proposed waiving a ban that prevents ammunition it manufactures from being re-exported from another country to Ukraine.
Report: Germany pressures Switzerland to re-export tank ammo to Ukraine
This content was published on
Switzerland faces pressure from Germany to review its veto over the re-export of Swiss-made tank ammunition that Berlin wants to send to Ukraine.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
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.