The President of Switzerland is "for" revising the ban that currently prevents the re-export of Swiss weapons from another country to Ukraine, reports "Reuters".
According to Viola Amerd, the embargo harms the industry and the security of her country.
Calls for Switzerland to break with centuries-old tradition as a neutral state have grown both at home and abroad since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. Its parliament has already recommended easing gun rules, although the government last year refused to change its long-standing policy.
"Personally, I think we need to take a step forward for our industry," insisted Amerd, who is also the defense minister.
"It becomes difficult because countries like the Netherlands have decided not to buy from Switzerland as it is not free to re-export, which I understand," she added.
"If we have a problem with our arms industry, it means we also have a problem with security, because it is important to have technology and know-how,", the president emphasized. However, she stressed that Switzerland - which acts as a peace mediator in global conflicts - would never supply weapons directly to a country at war.
Despite its long-standing neutrality, Switzerland is a major arms supplier - the world's 14th largest in 2022, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. However, Swiss arms sales fell in 2023, which critics attributed to the country's neutral stance.
More broadly, Amerd said Switzerland needs to invest more in security across Europe and said it plans to strengthen ties with a number of partners, including NATO.
"For the last 30 years, Switzerland has not invested enough in defense and we need to catch up," she insisted.