Swiss say no to hardening neutrality principle, safeguarding sanctions on Russia

Key Points:

• Swiss voters decisively rejected a proposal to enforce a stricter interpretation of the country's neutrality principle, with about 68% voting against the initiative according to early results.
• The rejected proposal would have prevented Switzerland from imposing sanctions on hostile states like Russia unless approved by the UN Security Council, where Russia holds veto power.
• Russia supported the initiative, which was introduced by the right-wing Pro Switzerland group advocating for unwavering neutrality without case-by-case adjustments.
• The Swiss government and Parliament opposed the proposal, emphasizing that the current neutrality framework has been effective, as Switzerland has aligned with EU sanctions against Moscow.
• Later this year, Swiss voters will decide on potentially loosening arms export rules to allow sales to certain Western countries, which could strengthen ties with Western allies and benefit Switzerland's defense industry.