On 1 June, Switzerland’s lower house of parliament, the National Council, rejected a proposal to allow the re-export of Swiss-made arms to Ukraine.
Ninety-eight members of the chamber voted against the initiative, while 75 voted in favour. Jean-Luc Addor of the largest Swiss People’s Party in the National Council said that passing the law would violate the military neutrality to which Switzerland has long adhered.
Switzerland’s policy of neutrality, enshrined in its constitution, prohibits the export of arms to zones of active hostilities. Swiss authorities have also banned countries that possess its weapons – Germany, Finland and Spain – from transferring them to Kyiv
The vote took place after President Alain Berset met Vladimir Zelensky at a European summit in Moldova.
