The lower house of the Swiss parliament, the National Council, voted against an amendment that would allow third countries to re-export Swiss-made weapons, in particular, to Ukraine.

 This is reported by Swiss Info.

 The National Council rejected the parliamentary initiative of its Security Policy Committee (SIK-N) by 98 votes to 75, with two lawmakers abstaining. Thus, the initiative is now off the agenda, as the relevant committee of the other house of parliament, the Council of Cantons, has already rejected the idea in the past.

 The National Council discussed a simple regulation that would allow Ukraine to transfer the weapons they bought in Switzerland.

 However, the discussion on the transfer of weapons will continue even after the decision of the National Council. There are several proposals on this topic under consideration in the parliament.

 The proposal that would allow for the indirect supply of military materials to Ukraine has the greatest chance of being accepted, but it has many conditions.

 For example, weapons could be supplied only five years after their acquisition in Switzerland, but only by Western countries and upon request. Also, the target country must not be at war unless it is defending itself, like Ukraine.

 Also, the target country must not seriously violate human rights or use weapons against the civilian population.

 Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, several countries have appealed to Switzerland to allow the transfer of Swiss weapons, which are in their arsenal, to Kyiv.

 Germany, for example, wanted to transfer Gepard anti-aircraft ammunition and machine gun ammunition to Ukraine. Denmark applied to Bern for permission to supply Piranha III armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. However, Switzerland rejected both applications. This caused international criticism.