Swiss Federal President: “If attacked, neutrality falls”

In the event of a Russian attack, Switzerland wants to defend itself against the aggressor together with its European NATO partners. Swiss Federal President and Defense Minister Viola Amherd made this clear on Tuesday during a state visit to Vienna.

There is a reservation of neutrality in the European Sky Shield air defense initiative. “If there is an attack on Switzerland, the situation will be different and neutrality will fall.” In such a case, Switzerland could “organize our defense with partners,” said the Christian Democratic politician at a press conference with Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen in the Hofburg. As with any weapon system, it is hoped that the defensive shield “will not be used”.

The two neutral countries Austria and Switzerland are taking part in the initiative launched last year by the NATO state Germany, which is particularly concerned with joint procurement, training and the exchange of information, for example through radar data. Van der Bellen also expressed clear support for Sky Shield. Acquiring missile defense systems is “very expensive” and “too expensive for small states to do alone,” he said. With regard to the neutrality of both states, he called it a “luck of history” that Austria and Switzerland were able to cooperate in the military field.

In general, it is also time to think about better organization of defense within the EU. The current supply problems in the ammunition sector, for example, are not due to countries spending too little on the military, but rather because they are not cooperating enough. “The war in Ukraine makes us aware: we have a cooperation problem,” said Van der Bellen.

Austria and Switzerland behave similarly towards Russian aggression in Ukraine. Switzerland also supports the EU economic sanctions against Russia. Bern and Vienna provide humanitarian aid to Kiev, but do not supply weapons.