Last week, after maintaining a strict policy of neutrality for 11 months, Switzerland softened its position and allowed other countries to supply Ukraine with weapons that are made in Switzerland or have components of Swiss origin. And now, according to Bloomberg, there is an active debate in Switzerland regarding the possible help to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to get more Leopard tanks.
Switzerland has in storage 96 Leopard 2A4 (Pz 87) tanks in storage, which have been in storage for almost ten years and which can be restored for further use.
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And although the direct transfer of these tanks to Ukraine is out of the question, since Switzerland cannot renounce its neutrality, Swiss politicians have a rather interesting plan, how exactly these tanks can reach Ukraine.
Thus, they offer to sell decommissioned tanks to other European countries: Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which will supply their own tanks to Ukraine. The tanks will be sold for a symbolic one franc, but under one condition: the Swiss Leopard 2 will never be re-exported to Ukraine.
Such an idea was proposed by Maja Riniker, a member of parliament from the centrist SDP party. Although the proposal was rejected on first reading last week, Mrs. Riniker plans to bring it up for a second vote in the spring.
As a conclusion, Defense Express notes the following: this is a positive moment that there is active talk in Switzerland about the indirect supply of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine: this is a positive moment, but it will most likely be a rather long process, which for now should be treated with cautious optimism.
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