President of Switzerland supports ban on arms supplies to Ukraine

"The government's position is clear, it also corresponds to my personal position: Swiss weapons must not be used in wars," Berset told Neue Zueriche Zeitung am Sonntag in an interview, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to him, Bern's policy is based on "commitment to peace, humanitarian law, mediation where possible."

The President emphasized that Switzerland seeks to be present wherever it can contribute to mediation and peace. He also considers it necessary to hold negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, and "the sooner, the better."

As reported, the Swiss government previously stated that it would not change its policy on the ban on the transfer of Swiss-made weapons to third countries, despite pressure from European countries regarding their supply to Ukraine. In January, two parliamentary committees in Switzerland recommended relaxing the rules. However, after the meeting on March 10, the government rejected this call.

The years-long tradition of neutrality became the subject of debate after the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and calls from European partners to provide ammunition and allow the re-export of equipment with Swiss spare parts.

Switzerland rejected requests from Germany, Spain, and Denmark referring to the Act on War Materiel which prohibits any re-export if a recipient country is in an international armed conflict.

At the same time, Switzerland joined many European sanctions against the Russian Federation.