comment: >
  
  I wish people could actually understand this.
context: This should surprise no one. They've still not cleared the export of ammunition for the Gepards that Germany sent that have been very important in protecting civilian areas from cruise missiles and suicide drones. Nor have they cleared the way to export the ammunition for the Marders that are being sent.
  ​
  The Gepard ammo problem was only "solved" by finding a company in another nation (Norway) that was capable of starting up a production of 35mm rounds. >
  
  What's the point of using the Swiss as an ammo supplier in the first place? >
  
  They still actively produce ammo for european systems. >
  
  No one else does?
  This doesn’t make sense.  Who would tie themselves to a single vendor without at least one immediate backup? >
  
  Europe dont use these type of ammo that often, production line are there to supply peacetime use(training, maintenance, etc.) There are backups available but restarting production and refitting chain of productions for less used calibers takes time. Normally reserves would be there to protect NATO and euro countries but we are in a kind of awkward situation as Ukraine isnt NATo or euro but most countries are eager to smash the Russian bullies. They will give Ukraine what they can but they have reserves to maintain, soldiers to train, borders to protect... >
  
  Switzerland isn't in Nato or the EU. It does seem bizarre to have them be a part of the arms supply chain to be honest? >
  
  Especially when they can flag their neutrality for blocking where their products go. >
  
  It certainly is a way to try and lose business. >
  
  I'd say they're trying to avoid losing someone else's business. >
  
  Very true. Switzerland has always had a hard time returning  blood money that has propped them up since WWII. >
  
  Fake website. Switzerlandtimes.ch is not a thing. It's simply russian disinfo again. >
  
  it looks pretty legit but there is one giveaway which instantly proves that this is not a real site.
  if you click on the "SUBSCRIBE for 1€" button you just reload the site.
  no way a news outlet would make a site where the option of giving them money isn't working. >
  
  Also none of the social media links work >
  
  Switzerland is never gonna play ball till Russian bombs cross their borders >
  
  I wonder if it has something to do with Putin and his buddies storing money in their banks? You know, like Nazis did in WW2 >
  
  or his daughters living there? >
  
  A daughter of Putin lives in the Netherlands, still we just agreed to spend 2.5 bilion to help Ukraine..
  So that should not be an issue. >
  
  But why not let them have some Spanish weapons too.   Switzerland a real NATO ally would make sure Ukraine gets all the weapons they can from any source to continue beating the shit out of what’s left of the Russian Army as long as they remain on sovereign Ukrainian soil.  
  This was your first test of worthiness to become a NATO ally and you failed. >
  
  They don't want to become a NATO ally >
  
  This lol.....why would you commit to one side when you can make money of both. This is literally Switzerland  since forever. >
  
  That’s Switzerland since the treaty of Paris. Not since forever. >
  
  For anyone wondering why Switzerland has a say in any of this, it seems that Spain originally purchased these Swiss-made arms - and part of that agreement requires permission prior to being on-sold or donated.
  A law that makes sense from a distance, given that no nation would want to see their arms land in the hands of an enemy nation through a 3rd party.. but in this case, the Swiss Gov’t needs to take a break from shielding Russian oligarch funds, pull their finger out from where the Sun don’t shine and get out of the way of other nations trying to help an ally currently under attack. >
  
  Swiss Banks will never give up they're absolute neutrality cause that's how they get their money. If they start releasing the funds of russian oligarchs, suddenly, all of the other wealthy evil people will feel like they might be next and take they're money elsewhere; suddenly Swiss Banks aren't relevant anymore on the world stage. >
  
  That means they are not neutral. >
  
  I wish people could actually understand this. >
  
  If someone starts beating you up and I stand there and just shrug and say "I'm neutral.", then I'm not neutral, I've sided with the person hitting you. >
  
  That’s staying out of the situation >
  
  It's a trolley problem, depending on your philosophy it can be 'staying out of the situation ' or 'passively enabling a situation to continue'. Inaction is often an action >
  
  It’s not often an action, it’s always an action. Their action is typically to stay out of situations and provide a neutral ground. How do people not see that as useful, especially with their relative military power. >
  
  Knowing how Spanish Government work, i wouldnt be surprised if they dont give a shit and give them away anyways. >
  
  I reckon a majority of Swiss people would support this.
  The Swiss government can't break Swiss law but they have a big leeway in choosing the response to a contract breach. >
  
  “If you break the contract we won’t give you the munitions we already weren’t giving you” sounds like the worst that could happen. >
  
  They don’t even need to send it from Switzerland, it’s already held by the country wishing to supply it, the Swiss just won’t allow them to >
  
  "let it go Swiss, it's not nazi gold"! >
  
  oligarch money are quite delicious >
  
  hol up, saw a thread that declared this was a fake website sharing Russian disinfo. can anyone verify? >
  
  Interesting...Now I'm discombobulated cuz I can't understand then, did the swiss really do this? Cuz theres a few other locations that reported on this that are normally more legitimate, so now I have no idea haha... >
  
  Hmm I can't see it anywhere else after looking. It could also just be a website that makes very misleading headlines. Like if you look at the homepage it says "Jill Biden has cancer" when in reality she had a cancerous lesion removed. >
  
  Fancy that, I think you're absolutely right. I thought I saw a BBC headline running that description, but when I tried to re-google what Id done last time, the only two headlines are the one on this article, and a similar one with the same URL ending. Unbelievable man. What a world, eh? (Though guess I'm the fool for being so gullible haha) >
  
  Wow that article just says the same thing over and over again. It just repeats the same thing repeatedly.  It says a couple of things then says then again.  The things that it said in one paragraph are just repeated in the next.  The three things it said were reworded and repeated several times.  It made the same points several times. >
  
  Fake website. It's Russia trying to cause shit. 
  Fake website, no author >
  
  Neutrality is a lie and always has been. >
  
  Tho this is more like a breach of contract than neutrality. As Spain can't donate or sell what they buy from Switzerland without permission. They did not ask beforehand. >
  
  The Swiss would block it regardless though. They've still never green lit Gepard ammo from back in May. >
  
  Because they have a constitutional law preventing them right now >
  
  The Swiss defense industry isn't going to have any customers but the Swiss when this is done. The US will at least green light sending US produced arms when the opponent is on the US shitlist. >
  
  hope their arms industry colapses >
  
  a vast number of Swiss arms companies are owned by Germany. SIG is no longer Swiss-first since the merger with Sauer. Oerlikon is no longer Swiss-first since the buyout by Rheinmetall. Hammerli is owned by Walther Group. 
  I think all that's left is Tanner, Grunig & Elmiger (both target rifle companies) and Bruger&Thormet (B&T)
  B&T uh-ohed some years back and sold weapons to Yanukovich, who used the weapons on the citizens of Ukraine. >
  
  They are “neutral” until Russians start pulling out their funds from their banks. >
  
  Would lack of russian money make a big dent for their banks? >
  
  Swiss National Bank and Credit Suisse had really bad years last year.
  SNB posted a record loss of $143 billion last year (graph).  To put that into perspective, this loss by SNB in 2022 equates to 60% of all their profits for the past 20 years. >
  
  The Swiss National Bank made the loss because they wanted to devalue the Swiss Franc. This is all calculated and not an accident.
  Credit Suisse was always shit and finally got their comeuppance. >
  
  Remember the Swiss took ~~money~~ gold from the Nazis during WWII. >
  
  They took literal concentration camp harvested gold melted into bars. It’s way worse than “money” >
  
  Ugh... tooth gold... >
  
  Tooth gold is obviously the most egregious one, but remember that they stripped them of every ring, necklace, bracelet, etc that they were wearing or owned. That’s way more. >
  
  They bought 900 million of "loose gold" from Russia just a couple of months ago. Hmmmmmmm. >
  
  Wtf is this article. It's like a highschooler trying to turn 1 sentence into an entire essay. >
  
  Because it's fake. It's direct propaganda from Russia. >
  
  When money is more important than integrity. History repeats. >
  
  You are all missing the point of what neutrality is. For some reason you think that being neutral is some honorable and noble thing and Switzerland is thus not being neutral because they're not acting honorably. No, neutrality means doing nothing, even if terrible things are happening around you. It's not always an honorable thing, sometimes it's cowardly and heartless. But if it means savings millions of your people's lives and maintaining your autonomy as an independent country, I understand it, even if i don't agree with it. 
  Yes, I know the WWII nazi collaborator thing, means they weren't really neutral back then, yes I know I'll get 30 identical comments pointing this out. Though I hate Russia and everything they're doing, I don't fault the Swiss for wanting to stay out of yet another European war.
  I know this'll get a million downvotes cause I'm not jumping on the outrage train, don't care, stay mad. >
  
  Someone tell me again how this is to do with the slow Swiss political process rather than someone in that process with understanding of the cause and effect stemming from this decision and the will to help Russia. >
  
  I mean Roger Köppel from the swiss SVP party had guest appearances on russias TV station Russia Today (RT). Soooooo >
  
  Which is why they will lose in the Federal elections this year. >
  
  Will they, though? They are the biggest party in the National Council, and have been for decades. They poll much higher than the other parties, and it seems like... people just loves them. >
  
  The EU needs to review every strategic import with Switzerland. It just doesn’t make sense to rely on Switzerland for anything critical if they are unreliable partners.
  Trade in weapons, pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, etc. should be eliminated where possible. >
  
  I understand the sentiment but in this case Switzerland is firmly following its official policies, in this case Switzerland is too reliable. It sucks balls that these guidelines exist but don't confuse Switzerland being unreliable and Switzerland not following the wishes of NATO. >
  
  Just send it anyway. >
  
  Is there only one road? >
  
  Ah yes the swiss.. claim to be neutral but profits of war, in so many way... bravo on being asses >
  
  Switzerland would literally make more money if they allowed their arms to be sent to Ukraine, because that would mean selling more arms. >
  
  But not even close to the amount they clear from hosting Russian oligarchs funds. It’s where they send their money and their children. >
  
  They have a very big heart, full of neutrality. >
  
  Very big hearts, very full of love for blood money 💰 >
  
  That article was as useless as the ones in America.  It just kept saying the same thing over and over with no details. >
  
  I'm starting to believe that this isn't real. If you Google this online you'll see there's no more information than what this gives. Plus, there's nothing from any reputable websites that I know. 
  I tried everything to verify Switzerlandtimes.ch and found nothing. Also, their servers are in Finland, which I'm not too sure about either way. >
  
  Just send them US or French arms, don't let the swiss enter the conversation at all. >
  
  Or just let Spain ignore it. Switzerland is a whiny bitch. >
  
  Swiss "Neutrality" is a fucking joke and always has been.
  They tried to block the German Gepards too because they originally manufactured the 35mm ammo that would need to be sent with them.
  Switzerland should just admit that it's a Russian ally at this point. Not even Serbia has done this much to help them. >
  
  Have they exported anything to Russia during the war? >
  
  Nope Russia is blacklisted from weapons exports since they took over Crimea >
  
  So wouldn’t that be maintaining neutrality? Since they don’t have weapon exports to either side >
  
  Exactly what it is >
  
  People really throwing with irrational shit in here. 
  „Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles is waiting for the green light from Switzerland to export certain military equipment to Ukraine.“
  Switzerland only sells weapons for self defense of a country. A law prevents that they just resell it to another country, which makes total sense. Thus, why it takes longer to get the green light. They are on it. >
  
  what use are swiss made arms if you can't use them? >
  
  The Swiss over here just murdering the future of their own foreign arms sales. >
  
  we are neutral*
  ​
  *about where the money comes from >
  
  There is an old African saying: "My country (insert African country here) is rich - in Switzerland!" >
  
  fuck swiss neutrality - countries ready to violate international law don't care about neutrality either. >
  
  In particular because they aren’t really in danger like they were in WW2. They are making these choices because they want to. >
  
  Well Switzerland is about to gut its own defense industry with actions like these. Countries are gonna now reconsider buying from the Swiss. >
  
  Does ammunition need to come from or go through Switzerland. If not, cast them to the side >
  
  Send them anyway, what's the Swiss gonna do? send some pikeman after you? >
  
  They didn’t say anything about Spanish legs though 🗿 >
  
  Ahh, the Swiss - the original Nazi bank. >
  
  I'm swiss.
  Lived here all my life. But i hve NEVER heard of this website.
  Im not sure it's legit >
  
  Everything the Swiss touch appears to be corrupt. Just look to FIFA for validation. >
  
  Here, something to think about. All this hate about Swiss people because "we can vote".
  Swiss is as corrupt as the countries using our banks.
  Doesn't help that a big part of the population is very close-minded and eats up propaganda like crazy, despite being good people. My mother is a prime example of it unfortunately. >
  
  If this conflict taught me anything, its that the Swiss are dicks. >
  
  The same Switzerland that while claiming to be neutral is buying billions of dollars worth of gold from Russia, effectively feeding its war machine?
  The same Switzerland that supplied the Nazis with steel? >
  
  No, the other Switzerland. >
  
  I'd love for them to just ship it anyway, and for us to turn a blind eye.
  The reason we block this stuff is afaik, is that its mandated by our own constitution. And any change to the constitution needs to be voted on by the swiss people, which is a rather slow and tedious process (which takes 12-24 months).
  Should we never have written it this way? Probably. Are we hypocrites to sell arms that the receiving country cannot give to anyone they want? Yes, weapons kill. And if we don't want that, we shouldn't export them at all. But in the end, also the country buying the ammunition and weapons has agreed to these terms, for whatever reason. >
  
  I assume this law was written to prevent Swiss weapons to be used in some civil war in Africa, by the Taliban and other stuff like that?
  I still think that makes sense. We are only judging it in the light of the war in Ukraine now, where most of us feel like providing weapons to them is morally the right thing to do, but writing a sensible law that covers both cases seems really hard. >
  
  We are not allowed to sell weapons to active conflicts, and the law was designed to prevent that weapons are shipped to neighbouring countries and then simply re-sold to active conflicts.   
  I think it would be better to correct it in a way, that re-selling is allowed if the receiving country is fighting a defensive war against another nation state or similar. >
  
  Switzerland was a mistake. >
  
  Note to self: stop buying Swiss-made arms >
  
  Reminder that Swiss martial neutrality was because Swiss mercenaries were effective enough that they were being bought up by both sides in wars, so the neutrality was put in place to protect them from killing themselves. >
  
  Ukraine? No. Nazis? Ok. >
  
  Switzerland is making a great case for any country that needs to get military hardware to NOT buy from them. >
  
  I sincerely hope this guts the Swiss defense industry. Any nation that continues buying from them is an idiot. >
  
  Money talks >
  
  Don’t think the source is credible. >
  
  What about legs >
  
  “Thems look fresh.” >
  
  Why the hell is a neutral country producing so many weapons? >
  
  Because the way to ensure neutrality is to be armed to the teeth. >
  
  Makes sense. >
  
  Don't buy Swiss weapons. >
  
  "Switzerlandtimes.ch" you guys fall for everything don't you? >
  
  Neutrality is a joke. The world simply doesn't work like that. >
  
  Germany has the same rules with their leopard 2. Just because switzerland is neutral people make a bigger fuss about it. >
  
  That face is how ill be seeing Switzerland from now on. Ugly karen looking betch. >
  
  not neutral. more like politically amoral >
  
  Those Europeans never get their act together. They deserve to all be overrun. The idea that ONE country can block the whole Union is ludicrous and highly destabilizing. One wonders why Countries like Australia, Canada, India, South Africa ever sent men to die in European fields, let alone twice when these people cannot or will not save themselves. Never again should the world save Europe. >
  
  Good reason not to buy weapons from Switzerland in the future >
  
  How stupid can Switzerland be.   Russia would be such a great country if it was democratic, capitalist and free.  This war is a turning point.   Ukraine is the tip of the sword for freedom and democracy >
  
  Hank did nothing to stop it, just like the Swiss
  -Dale Gribble
  aka Rusty Shakleford >
  
  Ah.. the good old Swiss who were complicit in the death of millions of WW2 victims. >
  
  Booo >
  
  I hope the Ukraine war has a big negative impact on the Swiss defense industry. Switzerland has blocked the exportation of needed defense systems and future countries looking to buy from them should keep this in mind. >
  
  I think for Switzerland neutrality is just a convenient excuse. >
  
  For those calling Swiss complicit or allied with Putin's aims, do you know any example of similar circumstances where Switzerland did allow the transfer to go through?
  I hate this as much as anyone, but I'm not going to fault the Swiss from applying their laws consistency. They should change the law but that is a matter for the National Assembly. >
  
  Reddit Diplomats in shambles >
  
  Spanish should tell them to fuck themselves. The Swiss need put in their place. >
  
  So the obvious solution is, give Ukraine the weapons anyway, and then just buy your new weapons from Germany or something.
  If the Swiss arms industry has this kind of restriction on it, then people are now learning that they should look elsewhere. >
  
  Switzerland plays neutral and takes dollars from all sides. Longest running con in the world. >
  
  Switzerland the "neutral" nation that seems to always side with people like Hitler and putian! >
  
  I'm gonna say this, i will be downvoted to hell, but i'm still gonna say it. Looking at the comments here, I honestly think if someone here was leader of a country in Europe, there would have already been a nuclear warfare.
  Politics don't have morality, especially in times of war.
  If you believe in a "good vs evil" world, then you live in a fantasy world. >
  
  Time to boycott Swiss products! >
  
  Like they care about your peanut money ahha >
  
  Lmao, I'm sure Nestle is devastated they won't be getting his $5 for a pack of water bottles 😭 >
  
  I now see why Zapp Brannigan wanted to go to war against the forces of neutral. >
  
  How about EU countries sanction Switzerland and blockade all land routes in and out? Let’s see how long the Swiss last eating Nazi and Russian gold.
  Fuck Putin and his Swiss sympathizers. >
  
  I know that Switzerland’s politics are a bit of a drag, but its flag a is big plus. >
  
  Fuck the Swiss government. I don't give a shit for their reasons, They're not neutral, their obstruction means they've chosen a side. >
  
  I think they would have a different perspective if they didnt have the ability to hide behind germany, austria, and italy >
  
  Hiding behind Austria? Are you kidding? Germany and France, fair. Italy, maybe. But Austria? lmao >
  
  So the Swiss have finally picked a side? And they’re going with Putin??? Fucking rich people. >
  
  I really have no idea why we ever even talk to Switzerland tbh. 
  It's just a piggy bank for nefariously procured wealth.  Which their population is fine with.
  Good skiing, shit people. >
  
  Ahhhh the Swiss back at it again.. pretending to be neutral/pacifist/peaceloving for the sake of filling their pockets✌️selfish mofos >
  
  can we please block Switzerland from getting chips or some other stuff they need to make them rethink how entangled they in the world are as a "neutral" nation. If they are truly neutral that shouldn't hurt them, eh? >
  
  what to expect from nazi gold protectors? >
  
  Switzerland staying “neutral” while supporting the enemies of freedom. Guess the rest of Europe evolved after WWII without them. >
  
  In case you didn’t know Switzerland always sided with the bad guys. >
  
  Neutrality is kind of their thing >
  
  Well this due maybe the Swiss banks have 90% of Russian money in the vaults for 99 years.  Wouldn’t surprise me >
  
  Swiss neutrality at its best. >
  
  As Dante once said: "the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis act like the Swiss." >
  
  Those who value gold over blood will have neither when bombs start falling on their lands. >
  
  The real question is, what can the Swiss really do about it? I assume the guns can only be seized if it passes through Swiss territory. Even if they can be seized easier than that, it’s not like there isn’t a country on the other side of the ocean who would sell them guns in a heartbeat. >
  
  It would set a precedent that Spain doesn't respect the contracts it signes opening the door to a huge mountains of problem >
  
  Switzerland is just good at being rich. They would act different, if they weren't in the middle of Europe. >
  
  Don’t buy Swiss weapons. Seriously: any open procurements do no include Swiss manufacturers and don’t renew any contracts. I get that won’t be easy in all cases but it’s not worth it in the long term. >
  
  I'm sure military procurement analysts are reading your comment closely ready to take your advice to presidents around the world >
  
  Switz blocking another ammo supply. Their entire wealth comes from laundering and storing money from any one. Spineless country. Not joining NATO or EU coz their geographical position and greed. Lucky in both WW. If they would experience the horrors of war, their position would switch, but still for now only money talks for them. >
  
  I hate Switzerland. This one country is the only reason developing countries are still developing countries. All corrupt money goes in their banks. >
  
  Switzerland really showing it's NAZI colors as of late. >
  
  Every half year the world discovers anew, that the Swiss are a bunch of spineless enablers for the worst humans on earth. >
  
  time to make swiss fall in line or face sanctions. land locked with EU on there whole border. would be so easy to make life hard for them. >
  
  The Swiss are the worst. Nestle, “neutrality” in the face of pure evil, Nazi gold. Awful. >
  
  The Swiss just like every other country are first and foremost looking out for their own interest. And their best interests comes from illicit money, from Russian, and American oligarchs. As they say it takes just one woman to satisfy two men and a Switzerland to satisfy  both sides of a fighting countries. >
  
  Sure, but we dont have time left for national interests. We either tackle the global problems now or we fucked ourself into oblivion. National Interest is just a synonym for" I dont care, because I want more." >
  
  Why are the Swiss always acting like Nazis >
  
  The swiss need to grow a backbone. SMH. >
  
  I really forward to the day the Swiss get absolutely fucked. >
  
  Ah yes, the Swiss. They do wonderful things with chocolate but not so helpful in a war. >
  
  "The total of the Russian oligarchs' hoard sheltered in Switzerland varies between 150 and 200 billion Swiss francs (143 and 190 billion euros) in combined deposits and assets, according to the Swiss."
  Source 
  Switzerland will block everything they can. They are basically little Russia. >
  
  “Neutral” >
  
  Sanction Switzerland >
  
  Fake website. Switzerlandtimes.ch is not a thing. It's simply russian disinfo again. >
  
  it looks pretty legit but there is one giveaway which instantly proves that this is not a real site.
  if you click on the "SUBSCRIBE for 1€" button you just reload the site.
  no way a news outlet would make a site where the option of giving them money isn't working. >
  
  Also none of the social media links work >
  
  This should surprise no one. They've still not cleared the export of ammunition for the Gepards that Germany sent that have been very important in protecting civilian areas from cruise missiles and suicide drones. Nor have they cleared the way to export the ammunition for the Marders that are being sent.
  ​
  The Gepard ammo problem was only "solved" by finding a company in another nation (Norway) that was capable of starting up a production of 35mm rounds. >
  
  What's the point of using the Swiss as an ammo supplier in the first place? >
  
  They still actively produce ammo for european systems. >
  
  No one else does?
  This doesn’t make sense.  Who would tie themselves to a single vendor without at least one immediate backup? >
  
  Europe dont use these type of ammo that often, production line are there to supply peacetime use(training, maintenance, etc.) There are backups available but restarting production and refitting chain of productions for less used calibers takes time. Normally reserves would be there to protect NATO and euro countries but we are in a kind of awkward situation as Ukraine isnt NATo or euro but most countries are eager to smash the Russian bullies. They will give Ukraine what they can but they have reserves to maintain, soldiers to train, borders to protect... >
  
  Switzerland isn't in Nato or the EU. It does seem bizarre to have them be a part of the arms supply chain to be honest? >
  
  Especially when they can flag their neutrality for blocking where their products go. >
  
  It certainly is a way to try and lose business. >
  
  I'd say they're trying to avoid losing someone else's business. >
  
  Very true. Switzerland has always had a hard time returning  blood money that has propped them up since WWII. >
  
  Switzerland is never gonna play ball till Russian bombs cross their borders >
  
  I wonder if it has something to do with Putin and his buddies storing money in their banks? You know, like Nazis did in WW2 >
  
  or his daughters living there? >
  
  A daughter of Putin lives in the Netherlands, still we just agreed to spend 2.5 bilion to help Ukraine..
  So that should not be an issue. >
  
  But why not let them have some Spanish weapons too.   Switzerland a real NATO ally would make sure Ukraine gets all the weapons they can from any source to continue beating the shit out of what’s left of the Russian Army as long as they remain on sovereign Ukrainian soil.  
  This was your first test of worthiness to become a NATO ally and you failed. >
  
  They don't want to become a NATO ally >
  
  This lol.....why would you commit to one side when you can make money of both. This is literally Switzerland  since forever. >
  
  That’s Switzerland since the treaty of Paris. Not since forever. >
  
  For anyone wondering why Switzerland has a say in any of this, it seems that Spain originally purchased these Swiss-made arms - and part of that agreement requires permission prior to being on-sold or donated.
  A law that makes sense from a distance, given that no nation would want to see their arms land in the hands of an enemy nation through a 3rd party.. but in this case, the Swiss Gov’t needs to take a break from shielding Russian oligarch funds, pull their finger out from where the Sun don’t shine and get out of the way of other nations trying to help an ally currently under attack. >
  
  Swiss Banks will never give up they're absolute neutrality cause that's how they get their money. If they start releasing the funds of russian oligarchs, suddenly, all of the other wealthy evil people will feel like they might be next and take they're money elsewhere; suddenly Swiss Banks aren't relevant anymore on the world stage. >
  
  That means they are not neutral. >
  
  I wish people could actually understand this. >
  
  If someone starts beating you up and I stand there and just shrug and say "I'm neutral.", then I'm not neutral, I've sided with the person hitting you. >
  
  That’s staying out of the situation >
  
  It's a trolley problem, depending on your philosophy it can be 'staying out of the situation ' or 'passively enabling a situation to continue'. Inaction is often an action >
  
  It’s not often an action, it’s always an action. Their action is typically to stay out of situations and provide a neutral ground. How do people not see that as useful, especially with their relative military power. >
  
  Knowing how Spanish Government work, i wouldnt be surprised if they dont give a shit and give them away anyways. >
  
  I reckon a majority of Swiss people would support this.
  The Swiss government can't break Swiss law but they have a big leeway in choosing the response to a contract breach. >
  
  “If you break the contract we won’t give you the munitions we already weren’t giving you” sounds like the worst that could happen. >
  
  They don’t even need to send it from Switzerland, it’s already held by the country wishing to supply it, the Swiss just won’t allow them to >
  
  "let it go Swiss, it's not nazi gold"! >
  
  oligarch money are quite delicious >
  
  hol up, saw a thread that declared this was a fake website sharing Russian disinfo. can anyone verify? >
  
  Interesting...Now I'm discombobulated cuz I can't understand then, did the swiss really do this? Cuz theres a few other locations that reported on this that are normally more legitimate, so now I have no idea haha... >
  
  Hmm I can't see it anywhere else after looking. It could also just be a website that makes very misleading headlines. Like if you look at the homepage it says "Jill Biden has cancer" when in reality she had a cancerous lesion removed. >
  
  Fancy that, I think you're absolutely right. I thought I saw a BBC headline running that description, but when I tried to re-google what Id done last time, the only two headlines are the one on this article, and a similar one with the same URL ending. Unbelievable man. What a world, eh? (Though guess I'm the fool for being so gullible haha) >
  
  Wow that article just says the same thing over and over again. It just repeats the same thing repeatedly.  It says a couple of things then says then again.  The things that it said in one paragraph are just repeated in the next.  The three things it said were reworded and repeated several times.  It made the same points several times. >
  
  Fake website. It's Russia trying to cause shit. 
  Fake website, no author >
  
  Neutrality is a lie and always has been. >
  
  Tho this is more like a breach of contract than neutrality. As Spain can't donate or sell what they buy from Switzerland without permission. They did not ask beforehand. >
  
  The Swiss would block it regardless though. They've still never green lit Gepard ammo from back in May. >
  
  Because they have a constitutional law preventing them right now >
  
  The Swiss defense industry isn't going to have any customers but the Swiss when this is done. The US will at least green light sending US produced arms when the opponent is on the US shitlist. >
  
  hope their arms industry colapses >
  
  a vast number of Swiss arms companies are owned by Germany. SIG is no longer Swiss-first since the merger with Sauer. Oerlikon is no longer Swiss-first since the buyout by Rheinmetall. Hammerli is owned by Walther Group. 
  I think all that's left is Tanner, Grunig & Elmiger (both target rifle companies) and Bruger&Thormet (B&T)
  B&T uh-ohed some years back and sold weapons to Yanukovich, who used the weapons on the citizens of Ukraine. >
  
  They are “neutral” until Russians start pulling out their funds from their banks. >
  
  Would lack of russian money make a big dent for their banks? >
  
  Swiss National Bank and Credit Suisse had really bad years last year.
  SNB posted a record loss of $143 billion last year (graph).  To put that into perspective, this loss by SNB in 2022 equates to 60% of all their profits for the past 20 years. >
  
  The Swiss National Bank made the loss because they wanted to devalue the Swiss Franc. This is all calculated and not an accident.
  Credit Suisse was always shit and finally got their comeuppance. >
  
  Remember the Swiss took ~~money~~ gold from the Nazis during WWII. >
  
  They took literal concentration camp harvested gold melted into bars. It’s way worse than “money” >
  
  Ugh... tooth gold... >
  
  Tooth gold is obviously the most egregious one, but remember that they stripped them of every ring, necklace, bracelet, etc that they were wearing or owned. That’s way more. >
  
  They bought 900 million of "loose gold" from Russia just a couple of months ago. Hmmmmmmm. >
  
  Wtf is this article. It's like a highschooler trying to turn 1 sentence into an entire essay. >
  
  Because it's fake. It's direct propaganda from Russia. >
  
  When money is more important than integrity. History repeats. >
  
  You are all missing the point of what neutrality is. For some reason you think that being neutral is some honorable and noble thing and Switzerland is thus not being neutral because they're not acting honorably. No, neutrality means doing nothing, even if terrible things are happening around you. It's not always an honorable thing, sometimes it's cowardly and heartless. But if it means savings millions of your people's lives and maintaining your autonomy as an independent country, I understand it, even if i don't agree with it. 
  Yes, I know the WWII nazi collaborator thing, means they weren't really neutral back then, yes I know I'll get 30 identical comments pointing this out. Though I hate Russia and everything they're doing, I don't fault the Swiss for wanting to stay out of yet another European war.
  I know this'll get a million downvotes cause I'm not jumping on the outrage train, don't care, stay mad. >
  
  Someone tell me again how this is to do with the slow Swiss political process rather than someone in that process with understanding of the cause and effect stemming from this decision and the will to help Russia. >
  
  I mean Roger Köppel from the swiss SVP party had guest appearances on russias TV station Russia Today (RT). Soooooo >
  
  Which is why they will lose in the Federal elections this year. >
  
  Will they, though? They are the biggest party in the National Council, and have been for decades. They poll much higher than the other parties, and it seems like... people just loves them. >
  
  The EU needs to review every strategic import with Switzerland. It just doesn’t make sense to rely on Switzerland for anything critical if they are unreliable partners.
  Trade in weapons, pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, etc. should be eliminated where possible. >
  
  I understand the sentiment but in this case Switzerland is firmly following its official policies, in this case Switzerland is too reliable. It sucks balls that these guidelines exist but don't confuse Switzerland being unreliable and Switzerland not following the wishes of NATO. >
  
  Just send it anyway. >
  
  Is there only one road? >
  
  Ah yes the swiss.. claim to be neutral but profits of war, in so many way... bravo on being asses >
  
  Switzerland would literally make more money if they allowed their arms to be sent to Ukraine, because that would mean selling more arms. >
  
  But not even close to the amount they clear from hosting Russian oligarchs funds. It’s where they send their money and their children. >
  
  They have a very big heart, full of neutrality. >
  
  Very big hearts, very full of love for blood money 💰 >
  
  That article was as useless as the ones in America.  It just kept saying the same thing over and over with no details. >
  
  I'm starting to believe that this isn't real. If you Google this online you'll see there's no more information than what this gives. Plus, there's nothing from any reputable websites that I know. 
  I tried everything to verify Switzerlandtimes.ch and found nothing. Also, their servers are in Finland, which I'm not too sure about either way. >
  
  Just send them US or French arms, don't let the swiss enter the conversation at all. >
  
  Or just let Spain ignore it. Switzerland is a whiny bitch. >
  
  Swiss "Neutrality" is a fucking joke and always has been.
  They tried to block the German Gepards too because they originally manufactured the 35mm ammo that would need to be sent with them.
  Switzerland should just admit that it's a Russian ally at this point. Not even Serbia has done this much to help them. >
  
  Have they exported anything to Russia during the war? >
  
  Nope Russia is blacklisted from weapons exports since they took over Crimea >
  
  So wouldn’t that be maintaining neutrality? Since they don’t have weapon exports to either side >
  
  Exactly what it is >
  
  People really throwing with irrational shit in here. 
  „Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles is waiting for the green light from Switzerland to export certain military equipment to Ukraine.“
  Switzerland only sells weapons for self defense of a country. A law prevents that they just resell it to another country, which makes total sense. Thus, why it takes longer to get the green light. They are on it. >
  
  what use are swiss made arms if you can't use them? >
  
  The Swiss over here just murdering the future of their own foreign arms sales. >
  
  we are neutral*
  ​
  *about where the money comes from >
  
  There is an old African saying: "My country (insert African country here) is rich - in Switzerland!" >
  
  fuck swiss neutrality - countries ready to violate international law don't care about neutrality either. >
  
  In particular because they aren’t really in danger like they were in WW2. They are making these choices because they want to. >
  
  Well Switzerland is about to gut its own defense industry with actions like these. Countries are gonna now reconsider buying from the Swiss. >
  
  Does ammunition need to come from or go through Switzerland. If not, cast them to the side >
  
  Send them anyway, what's the Swiss gonna do? send some pikeman after you? >
  
  They didn’t say anything about Spanish legs though 🗿 >
  
  Ah.. the good old Swiss who were complicit in the death of millions of WW2 victims. >
  
  Ahh, the Swiss - the original Nazi bank. >
  
  I'm swiss.
  Lived here all my life. But i hve NEVER heard of this website.
  Im not sure it's legit >
  
  Everything the Swiss touch appears to be corrupt. Just look to FIFA for validation. >
  
  Here, something to think about. All this hate about Swiss people because "we can vote".
  Swiss is as corrupt as the countries using our banks.
  Doesn't help that a big part of the population is very close-minded and eats up propaganda like crazy, despite being good people. My mother is a prime example of it unfortunately. >
  
  If this conflict taught me anything, its that the Swiss are dicks. >
  
  The same Switzerland that while claiming to be neutral is buying billions of dollars worth of gold from Russia, effectively feeding its war machine?
  The same Switzerland that supplied the Nazis with steel? >
  
  No, the other Switzerland. >
  
  I'd love for them to just ship it anyway, and for us to turn a blind eye.
  The reason we block this stuff is afaik, is that its mandated by our own constitution. And any change to the constitution needs to be voted on by the swiss people, which is a rather slow and tedious process (which takes 12-24 months).
  Should we never have written it this way? Probably. Are we hypocrites to sell arms that the receiving country cannot give to anyone they want? Yes, weapons kill. And if we don't want that, we shouldn't export them at all. But in the end, also the country buying the ammunition and weapons has agreed to these terms, for whatever reason. >
  
  I assume this law was written to prevent Swiss weapons to be used in some civil war in Africa, by the Taliban and other stuff like that?
  I still think that makes sense. We are only judging it in the light of the war in Ukraine now, where most of us feel like providing weapons to them is morally the right thing to do, but writing a sensible law that covers both cases seems really hard. >
  
  We are not allowed to sell weapons to active conflicts, and the law was designed to prevent that weapons are shipped to neighbouring countries and then simply re-sold to active conflicts.   
  I think it would be better to correct it in a way, that re-selling is allowed if the receiving country is fighting a defensive war against another nation state or similar. >
  
  Switzerland was a mistake. >
  
  Note to self: stop buying Swiss-made arms >
  
  Reminder that Swiss martial neutrality was because Swiss mercenaries were effective enough that they were being bought up by both sides in wars, so the neutrality was put in place to protect them from killing themselves. >
  
  Ukraine? No. Nazis? Ok. >
  
  Switzerland is making a great case for any country that needs to get military hardware to NOT buy from them. >
  
  I sincerely hope this guts the Swiss defense industry. Any nation that continues buying from them is an idiot. >
  
  Money talks >
  
  Don’t think the source is credible. >
  
  What about legs >
  
  “Thems look fresh.” >
  
  Why the hell is a neutral country producing so many weapons? >
  
  Because the way to ensure neutrality is to be armed to the teeth. >
  
  Makes sense. >
  
  Don't buy Swiss weapons. >
  
  "Switzerlandtimes.ch" you guys fall for everything don't you? >
  
  Neutrality is a joke. The world simply doesn't work like that. >
  
  Germany has the same rules with their leopard 2. Just because switzerland is neutral people make a bigger fuss about it. >
  
  That face is how ill be seeing Switzerland from now on. Ugly karen looking betch. >
  
  not neutral. more like politically amoral >
  
  Those Europeans never get their act together. They deserve to all be overrun. The idea that ONE country can block the whole Union is ludicrous and highly destabilizing. One wonders why Countries like Australia, Canada, India, South Africa ever sent men to die in European fields, let alone twice when these people cannot or will not save themselves. Never again should the world save Europe. >
  
  Good reason not to buy weapons from Switzerland in the future >
  
  How stupid can Switzerland be.   Russia would be such a great country if it was democratic, capitalist and free.  This war is a turning point.   Ukraine is the tip of the sword for freedom and democracy >
  
  Hank did nothing to stop it, just like the Swiss
  -Dale Gribble
  aka Rusty Shakleford >
  
  Booo >
  
  Just follow the money I suppose. >
  
  I hope the Ukraine war has a big negative impact on the Swiss defense industry. Switzerland has blocked the exportation of needed defense systems and future countries looking to buy from them should keep this in mind. >
  
  I think for Switzerland neutrality is just a convenient excuse. >
  
  For those calling Swiss complicit or allied with Putin's aims, do you know any example of similar circumstances where Switzerland did allow the transfer to go through?
  I hate this as much as anyone, but I'm not going to fault the Swiss from applying their laws consistency. They should change the law but that is a matter for the National Assembly. >
  
  Reddit Diplomats in shambles >
  
  Spanish should tell them to fuck themselves. The Swiss need put in their place. >
  
  So the obvious solution is, give Ukraine the weapons anyway, and then just buy your new weapons from Germany or something.
  If the Swiss arms industry has this kind of restriction on it, then people are now learning that they should look elsewhere. >
  
  Switzerland plays neutral and takes dollars from all sides. Longest running con in the world. >
  
  Switzerland the "neutral" nation that seems to always side with people like Hitler and putian! >
  
  I'm gonna say this, i will be downvoted to hell, but i'm still gonna say it. Looking at the comments here, I honestly think if someone here was leader of a country in Europe, there would have already been a nuclear warfare.
  Politics don't have morality, especially in times of war.
  If you believe in a "good vs evil" world, then you live in a fantasy world. >
  
  Time to boycott Swiss products! >
  
  Like they care about your peanut money ahha >
  
  Lmao, I'm sure Nestle is devastated they won't be getting his $5 for a pack of water bottles 😭 >
  
  I now see why Zapp Brannigan wanted to go to war against the forces of neutral. >
  
  How about EU countries sanction Switzerland and blockade all land routes in and out? Let’s see how long the Swiss last eating Nazi and Russian gold.
  Fuck Putin and his Swiss sympathizers. >
  
  I know that Switzerland’s politics are a bit of a drag, but its flag a is big plus. >
  
  Fuck the Swiss government. I don't give a shit for their reasons, They're not neutral, their obstruction means they've chosen a side. >
  
  I think they would have a different perspective if they didnt have the ability to hide behind germany, austria, and italy >
  
  Hiding behind Austria? Are you kidding? Germany and France, fair. Italy, maybe. But Austria? lmao >
  
  So the Swiss have finally picked a side? And they’re going with Putin??? Fucking rich people. >
  
  I really have no idea why we ever even talk to Switzerland tbh. 
  It's just a piggy bank for nefariously procured wealth.  Which their population is fine with.
  Good skiing, shit people. >
  
  Ahhhh the Swiss back at it again.. pretending to be neutral/pacifist/peaceloving for the sake of filling their pockets✌️selfish mofos >
  
  can we please block Switzerland from getting chips or some other stuff they need to make them rethink how entangled they in the world are as a "neutral" nation. If they are truly neutral that shouldn't hurt them, eh? >
  
  what to expect from nazi gold protectors? >
  
  Switzerland staying “neutral” while supporting the enemies of freedom. Guess the rest of Europe evolved after WWII without them. >
  
  In case you didn’t know Switzerland always sided with the bad guys. >
  
  Neutrality is kind of their thing >
  
  Well this due maybe the Swiss banks have 90% of Russian money in the vaults for 99 years.  Wouldn’t surprise me >
  
  Swiss neutrality at its best. >
  
  As Dante once said: "the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis act like the Swiss." >
  
  Those who value gold over blood will have neither when bombs start falling on their lands. >
  
  The real question is, what can the Swiss really do about it? I assume the guns can only be seized if it passes through Swiss territory. Even if they can be seized easier than that, it’s not like there isn’t a country on the other side of the ocean who would sell them guns in a heartbeat. >
  
  It would set a precedent that Spain doesn't respect the contracts it signes opening the door to a huge mountains of problem >
  
  Switzerland is just good at being rich. They would act different, if they weren't in the middle of Europe. >
  
  Don’t buy Swiss weapons. Seriously: any open procurements do no include Swiss manufacturers and don’t renew any contracts. I get that won’t be easy in all cases but it’s not worth it in the long term. >
  
  I'm sure military procurement analysts are reading your comment closely ready to take your advice to presidents around the world >
  
  Switz blocking another ammo supply. Their entire wealth comes from laundering and storing money from any one. Spineless country. Not joining NATO or EU coz their geographical position and greed. Lucky in both WW. If they would experience the horrors of war, their position would switch, but still for now only money talks for them. >
  
  I hate Switzerland. This one country is the only reason developing countries are still developing countries. All corrupt money goes in their banks. >
  
  Switzerland really showing it's NAZI colors as of late. >
  
  Every half year the world discovers anew, that the Swiss are a bunch of spineless enablers for the worst humans on earth. >
  
  time to make swiss fall in line or face sanctions. land locked with EU on there whole border. would be so easy to make life hard for them. >
  
  The Swiss are the worst. Nestle, “neutrality” in the face of pure evil, Nazi gold. Awful. >
  
  The Swiss just like every other country are first and foremost looking out for their own interest. And their best interests comes from illicit money, from Russian, and American oligarchs. As they say it takes just one woman to satisfy two men and a Switzerland to satisfy  both sides of a fighting countries. >
  
  Sure, but we dont have time left for national interests. We either tackle the global problems now or we fucked ourself into oblivion. National Interest is just a synonym for" I dont care, because I want more." >
  
  Why are the Swiss always acting like Nazis >
  
  The swiss need to grow a backbone. SMH. >
  
  I really forward to the day the Swiss get absolutely fucked. >
  
  Ah yes, the Swiss. They do wonderful things with chocolate but not so helpful in a war. >
  
  "The total of the Russian oligarchs' hoard sheltered in Switzerland varies between 150 and 200 billion Swiss francs (143 and 190 billion euros) in combined deposits and assets, according to the Swiss."
  Source 
  Switzerland will block everything they can. They are basically little Russia. >
  
  “Neutral” >
  
  Sanction Switzerland >
  
  Fake website. Switzerlandtimes.ch is not a thing. It's simply russian disinfo again. >
  
  Yeah was wondering when someone would point this out. There isn't even an author listed. >
  
  Really unfortunate how there are only about 20 comments about this being fake, and 1,200 comments talking about this as if it was real. This is how misinformation spreads like wildfire. Tomorrow there are going to be so many water-cooler conversations about "how Switzerland is blocking Spanish arms for Ukraine". >
  
  I mean this comment is at top at least so it has more power than 1200 of those. >
  
  For anyone wondering why Switzerland has a say in any of this, it seems that Spain originally purchased these Swiss-made arms - and part of that agreement requires permission prior to being on-sold or donated.
  A law that makes sense from a distance, given that no nation would want to see their arms land in the hands of an enemy nation through a 3rd party.. but in this case, the Swiss Gov’t needs to take a break from shielding Russian oligarch funds, pull their finger out from where the Sun don’t shine and get out of the way of other nations trying to help an ally currently under attack. >
  
  Swiss Banks will never give up they're absolute neutrality cause that's how they get their money. If they start releasing the funds of russian oligarchs, suddenly, all of the other wealthy evil people will feel like they might be next and take they're money elsewhere; suddenly Swiss Banks aren't relevant anymore on the world stage. >
  
  That means they are not neutral.