Jens Stoltenberg has asked Switzerland authorise the re-export of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, the NATO Secretary-General disclosed on Wednesday during a visit by Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd to Brussels.
“Naturally, we are asking all our partners, including Switzerland, to at least allow the re-export of arms and ammunition to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told German-language television station, SRF.
In his view, “this is not about neutrality.” It should be understood that neutral countries also have a duty to defend the UN charter, he added.
Switzerland currently prohibits other countries from passing on war material purchased in Switzerland to third parties.
The Swiss Defence Minister, for her part, expressed her wish for closer cooperation between Switzerland and the Atlantic Alliance. The NATO Secretary-General was open to closer cooperation, she stressed after the meeting. The same applies to representatives of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s main decision-making body.
In concrete terms, Switzerland wants to participate more in NATO exercises, develop interoperability between the Swiss army and the alliance, strengthen its participation in the competence centres certified by NATO, and collaborate more closely in the areas of cyber development, resilience and innovation.
NATO has an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP) for this, and discussions are underway between Bern and Nato on this issue.
The increased cooperation desired by Switzerland is, in part, a consequence of the war in Ukraine.
