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A majority of Swiss now favor a rapprochement with NATO

2023-03-16T14:07:49.833Z


A year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a majority of Swiss are now in favor of a rapprochement with NATO, a first in a country...


A year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a majority of Swiss are now in favor of a rapprochement with NATO, a first in a country very attached to its neutrality, the Federal Department of Defense said on Thursday.

This annual study was published by the Swiss Military Academy and the Center for Security Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

It shows that in January 2023, 55% of the Swiss population (an increase of 10 percentage points compared to January 2021) declared themselves in favor of a rapprochement with NATO.

"

This is the first time that a small majority of the population is of this opinion

," said the Federal Department of Defense in a press release.

On the other hand, only a third of those questioned support Swiss membership of NATO.

But 53% believe that the principle of neutrality is not opposed to Switzerland planning military defense in cooperation with the Organisation.

Switzerland is not a member of NATO but cooperates with it within the framework of the Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which allows it to voice its concerns on foreign policy and security issues. .

Look “more critical on neutrality”

A year after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Swiss "

now take a more critical look at neutrality and declare themselves ready for more cooperation

", observes the Federal Department of Defense.

Compared to January 2022, the principle of neutrality is certainly less strongly supported, but it continues to enjoy very broad approval, at 91% (-6 percentage points).

A majority of the Swiss (57%, no annual variation) remain in favor of a policy of “

differentiated neutrality

”, i.e. Switzerland taking a political position but remaining militarily neutral.

As in a poll conducted in June 2022, a clear majority of the Swiss population (70%) believes that the sanctions imposed on Russia are compatible with neutrality.

kyiv and its allies have multiplied in recent weeks more or less veiled criticism of Swiss neutrality.

Because if the Swiss government has certainly resumed European sanctions against Russia - which has earned it the disavowal of Moscow, it has so far shown itself to be inflexible on the question of the re-export of Swiss-made weapons. to Ukraine.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-03-16

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