Switzerland rejects request from Spain to re-export anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine
Flag of Switzerland (Photo:REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)
The Swiss government has rejected a request from the Spanish government to allow the re-export of Swiss-made anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine, news agency Reuters reported on Feb. 10.
Spain asked Switzerland if it could send two 35-mm anti-aircraft guns to Kyiv in January. Previously, Bern turned down requests from Denmark and Germany, which wanted to transfer Swiss-made armored vehicles and ammunition to Ukraine.
The country’s law prohibits the export of military materials if the country they are intended for is “involved in an internal or international armed conflict.”
Meanwhile, according to the agency, Switzerland may renounce neutrality in order to provide military aid to Kyiv. According to the survey by Swiss pollsters Sotomo published on Feb. 3, 55% of respondents favor allowing weapons re-exports to Ukraine.
“If we had asked this question before the war..., the response would have probably been less than 25%. Talking about changing neutrality was a taboo in the past,” Lukas Golder, co-director of pollsters GFS-Bern, told Reuters.
Earlier, Spain confirmed the shipment of 20 M113 armored personnel carriers. Also, according to the media, it can initially transfer from four to six Leopard 2A4 tanks.
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