Switzerland is seeking to defend its neutrality, blocking German tanks from reaching the war zone in Ukraine. Ruag AG, which is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland - sought government permission to sell nearly 100 tanks to Kiev for its war against Russia.
But the major Swiss arms maker and aerospace engineering company has been denied the requestion, with the government saying it would be "inconsistent with applicable law" concerning arms deliveries to an active conflict zone.
Swiss officials in the context of the announcement cited the small central European country's historic neutrality.
"The rejection applies to 96 non-operational Leopard 1 tanks currently stored in Italy, which are property of Ruag," Bloomberg reported Wednesday. "The proposal was for the vehicles to be refurbished in Germany and then sent to Ukraine."
And according to more details:
The announcement on Wednesday is unconnected to a separate sale of 25 Leopard 2 tanks of the Swiss army, which are supposed to go to German company Rheinmetall AG.
The latter deal recently won the support of the Swiss government and is expected to go through by next year. In this case, Germany has promised not to send the tanks to Ukraine, but to keep them at home to fill gaps in its own military.
But Switzerland certainly has a clear stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, given it has joined and expanded European sanctions against Russian entities.
Reuters confirmed Wednesday, "Switzerland has expanded financial and travel sanctions against Russian entities and persons in step with the most recent sanctions imposed by the European Union on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine."
A number of recent reports have meanwhile described Switzerland as a hotspot of both Russian and Chinese spying. Switzerland’s main intelligence agency, the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), issued a statement this week saying, "In Europe, Switzerland is one of the states with the highest numbers of Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover, in part due to its role as a host to international organizations."
But this actually remains a common practice especially for large powers, including the US, UK and other Western nations.
