Spain wanted to supply these weapons to Ukraine

After Berlin, criticism came from Madrid this week. Defense Minister Margarita Robles (66) sharply criticized Switzerland. The reason: Spain wanted to supply war material to Ukraine. However, for reasons of neutrality, Switzerland prohibits arms deliveries to the war zone.

“To send material, we need some kind of permission from Switzerland, which they are not granting us at the moment,” Defense Secretary Robles said. That’s right – the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) should issue a permit – however, Seco has not yet received an official request. It is likely that pre-pollings were conducted unofficially – and Spain was subsequently informed that Switzerland would reject an application.

Weapon parts come from Switzerland

As the “NZZ” writes, weapons are components for medium-range Aspide missiles. Spain may also want to supply Ukraine with twin-barrelled 20mm guns to protect the firing positions of the Hawk anti-aircraft missile system.

The Aspide missile is part of an anti-aircraft missile system jointly developed by Italy and Switzerland. The medium-range missile is used as an air-to-air and surface-to-air missile. Hawk is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system capable of intercepting missiles and aircraft. Hawk is produced by the American defense company Raytheon.

The weapon components are produced by Rheinmetall Air Defense, which is based in Zurich. The group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of air defense weapon systems.

Commission is considering relaxation

It is not entirely unlikely that Swiss weapons will be supplied to Ukraine in the future. The Security Policy Committee of the Council of States (SiK-S) wants to investigate the relaxation of the export of war material. The request was submitted by FDP chairman and Council of States Thierry Burkart (47). The SVP does not want to hear about relaxations – they see Swiss neutrality in danger. (bgs)