Citing the Swiss neutrality policy and the War Materiel Act, the Federal Council has determined that the sale of the 96 tanks cannot be permitted under the existing legal framework. Swiss law prohibits the delivery of war materiel to countries involved in armed conflicts.
The government’s stance remains the same regardless of whether a country has been attacked and seeks to defend itself. Consequently, Switzerland also declines to authorise the transfer of Swiss tank ammunition to Ukraine.
In April, Ruag AG submitted an export request to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) for the resale of 96 used and non-operational Leopard 1 A5 tanks. Currently stored in Italy, the tanks would require refurbishment in Germany before being exported to Ukraine.
Germany’s interest in tank buy-back
Switzerland has yet to make a final decision on different tank request from Germany concerning 25 decommissioned Leopard 2 tanks currently in Switzerland. Germany wants to buy these tanks, not to be delivered to Ukraine, but to replenish NATO supplies that have been thinned out by deliveries to Ukraine.
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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.