Swiss Neutrality Tested
The war in Ukraine has raised important questions for Switzerland
Switzerland has been faced with a test to its neutrality since the start of the war in Ukraine, as countries it has supplied arms to seek to re-export to the battlefield. Both sides of the political spectrum are conflicted over this debate.
Is a new vision of Swiss neutrality emerging? The country has been forced to reconsider its stance on supplying arms, as countries including Spain, Denmark and Germany have requested to re-export their Swiss-made weapons and tanks to help Ukraine. ‘Switzerland is a peacemaker, it does not fuel war’, says Céline Vara, a delegate at a Swiss Federal Council meeting on the issue. Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO, has argued that Switzerland should rethink their stance: ‘This is not about neutrality, this is about the right for self-defence […]. We have an obligation to help Ukraine defend themselves’. However, many people disagree. ‘There is a form of naivety. “As long as the fighting lasts, we send in the guns”. But these weapons don’t disappear, they will stay in place and change hands’, says activist Thomas Bruchez.
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