The Committee on Security Policy of the Swiss National Council (lower house of parliament) has supported an initiative to allow indirect arms supplies to Ukraine, Blick informs.
The committee proposed amendments to the law that prohibits the re-export of weapons to Ukraine. For this purpose, they initiated the introduction of a relevant bill for consideration by the parliament.
According to Blick, during the committee's deliberations, the proposal was supported by 10 deputies, while 10 were against, and four abstained. The final decision was made by the committee chair, Seiler Graf.
Now the bill must be reviewed by the Swiss National Council and the Council of States (upper house of parliament). The decision on providing weapons to Ukraine can only come into effect if supported by the deputies.
It's worth noting that Switzerland is a neutral country, which prohibits it from supplying weapons to Ukraine. Also, the transfer of Swiss-made weapons to the Ukrainian military is prohibited for third countries.
However, the Swiss government supports Ukraine through other means. In particular, it imposes sanctions against Russia, which are approved by the European Union.
What preceded
Back in mid-May, Bloomberg reported that Switzerland wants to lift restrictions on arms exports.
However, the journalists specified that it is planned to maintain the ban on supplying weapons to Ukraine.