GENEVA

Weapons manufactured in Switzerland should be allowed to be passed on by other countries to warring states under certain circumstances, said a committee of the lower house of parliament. 

The stance of the National Council's Security Policy Committee is particularly relevant in view of the war in Ukraine.

At Tuesday's session, the National Council passed a motion and a parliamentary initiative, according to a press release.

The initiative provides that bans on re-exporting will lapse if the re-export of the war materiel to Ukraine takes place in connection with the Russia-Ukraine conflict

The motion has the same goal, but is formulated more openly. According to it, the non-re-export declaration should be able to be lifted if the re-export relates to a situation in which the UN Security Council or the UN General Assembly has determined by a two-thirds majority that there is a contradiction to the prohibition of the use of force under international law.

The majority of the committee argued that Switzerland must make its contribution to European security and accordingly provide greater support to Ukraine.

While Switzerland does not supply Ukraine with its own weapons, it had also banned Denmark, Germany and Spain from passing on Swiss-made war material to Kyiv.

In Germany's case, the ban concerned ammunition for Gepard tanks, which Berlin wanted to provide to Kyiv and had asked Bern twice for permission to do so.

However, the Swiss Federal Council rejected the delivery both times, citing Swiss neutrality and the War Weapons Act.