The Federal Council is likely to give the West the following rebuff: Tank deal is about to expire

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No, no, and again no. In its last meeting before the summer holidays, the Bundesrat will once again have to deal with a sensitive dossier on Wednesday. Can the Ruag weapons company, which belongs to the federal government, sell Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine through Germany?

The government had already been working on it a week ago, but had not yet come to a conclusion. After the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) of SVP federal councilor Guy Parmelin (63) had already rejected an export and the Foreign Affairs department of FDP federal councilor Ignazio Cassis (62) had submitted a report, Justice of SP federal councilor Elisabeth also Baume -Schneider (59) would have to make a legal assessment.

Only Cassis and Amherd for that

But it is now becoming clear that the tank deal is likely to fail in the Federal Council – despite pressure from Western countries. Because in the body of seven, only Foreign Minister Cassis and Defense Minister Viola Amherd (61) are committed to making exports to Ukraine possible. This is confirmed by several sources close to the Federal Council.

The foreign and defense ministries argue that the tank agreement does not violate the War Material Act because the tanks have never been in Switzerland. Ruag had bought the 96 steel giants from Italy, some of them over 50 years old, originally produced in Germany in 2016. The tanks are still in storage today at our southern neighbour.

The disappointment in Western Europe is probably great

The other five members of the Bundesrat remain sceptical. They fear such a deal would violate Swiss neutrality. The latest report from the Ministry of Justice would have come to the same conclusion: supplying tanks to a warring party would be in direct violation of Switzerland’s obligation under the neutrality law. In other words: it is about neutrality, not about the War Material Act.

The Bundesrat should therefore decide differently this time than in mid-May. At that point, the government had decided to clear the way for the resale of 25 newer Leopard 2 tanks to Germany. In this way, Switzerland would also indirectly support the armament of Ukraine. The Council of States still has to approve the delivery.

The decisive difference: the tanks are not intended to go to Ukraine, but to fill gaps created in Germany and other European countries by supplying tanks to Ukraine. However, it is unlikely that the latest “Njet” from Bern will meet with much understanding.

Source:Blick