Swiss Rebuff German Requests to Send Tank Ammunition to Ukraine

(Bloomberg) --

Neutral Switzerland has turned down German requests to approve the shipment of ammunition made in the country to help Ukraine fend off Russia's invasion. 

Switzerland received two inquiries from Germany about passing on Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine but rejected them in line with its neutral status, the country's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said in an emailed statement on Sunday. 

The munitions in question are for Marder tanks made by the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG, the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported. One of the firm's facilities that makes the ammunition is in the Oerlikon district of Zurich, the newspaper said.

According to Swiss law, the country can't approve the exports of weapons if the nation they're destined for is involved in an internal or international armed conflict.

Read More: Germany's Scholz Focuses Ukraine Policy on Avoiding Nuclear War

Rheinmetall has asked Germany to approve the export of 100 Marder tanks to Ukraine, Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported Friday. 

The company declined to comment on the Swiss ammunition decision, referring “to the complex nature of the subject matter and the fact that the authorities in the respective countries are partly responsible for it.” 

A spokeswoman of the economy ministry in Berlin wasn't immediately able to comment.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged to continue shipping weaponry to Ukraine, while insisting on the need to avoid an open conflict with Russia that could lead to nuclear war.  

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