Switzerland has blocked delivery of ammunition used by Germany’s Marder infantry fighting vehicles, according to a Swiss paper
Switzerland has allegedly thwarted German plans to re-export Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine, the local media reported on Sunday, citing the nation’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco). According to the Alpine nation, it cited its neutrality and laws that forbid arms delivery to war zones.
Germany’s Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall automotive and arms manufacturer, which builds Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for the German Army, uses ammunition produced in Switzerland, according to the German media. This fact has apparently emerged as a stumbling block to Berlin’s latest plans to supply ammunition to Ukraine.
“Seco received two requests from Germany to pass ammunition [it] previously received from Switzerland on to Ukraine,”On Sunday, the Swiss newspaper Sonntags Zeitung was confirmed by the secretariat. Both were requested “have been rejected with a reference to Swiss neutrality and bounding rejection criteria of the legislation on military equipment,”The Swiss authorities also added.
Swiss law forbids the export of arms to war zones and requires Bern to consent to their re-export. After Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine, Switzerland joined anti-Russian Sanctions. This was a remarkable departure from the strict neutrality it had previously maintained. But it is still firm in its neutrality in regard to military aid to Ukraine.
The media reports that the Swiss veto over re-exporting ammunition caused anger in Germany because it made it difficult to ship any Marder IFVs into Ukraine. Berlin did not announce any such plans.
Polish and other NATO member countries have criticized the German government for not supporting Ukraine enough. This issue even led to tensions in the cabinet.
In April, Germany sent only one troop to the United Nations. “correct and reasonable”Kiev weapons, and added that no plans have been made to send “offensive”Ukraine requested weapons like tanks and armor repeatedly. Annalena Baerbock, Foreign Minister, demanded that the West provide Kiev with heavy weaponry. Scholz was then criticised and criticised. “now is not the time for excuses.”
In the beginning, Berlin supplied Ukraine with 1000 anti-tank weapons as well 500 anti-aircraft Stinger rockets. Germany announced in March that, due to security threats, it would not divulge further information on weapons supplied to Ukraine. Berlin declared in mid-April that it will allocate $2.1 billion more for military expenditures, with most of this money going to Ukraine.
A group of public and political figures, including ex-MPs, and an ex UN Assistant Secretary General, called Berlin on Saturday to stop any military aid to Ukraine. They urged Berlin instead to help Kiev abandon its military resistance for peace and to promote dialogue.
Russia attacked its neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. French- and German-brokered protocol were created to provide special status for the Ukrainian breakaway areas within the Ukrainian state.
In recent years, the Kremlin demands that Ukraine declares itself neutral in order to be able to join NATO. Kiev maintains that Russia’s offensive was not provoked and denies claims that it planned to seize the two republics.
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