BERLIN. June 28 (Interfax) - The Swiss government has announced its decision to decline a request from the weapons manufacturer Ruag AG to permit the sale of nearly one hundred Leopard 1 A5 tanks to Germany for their subsequent transfer to Ukraine.
"On June 28, the Federal Council rejected a request from Ruag AG concerning the export of 96 Leopard 1 A5 tanks destined for Ukraine as it is inconsistent with applicable law," the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement on Wednesday.
Apart from running counter to Swiss law, this deal "would result in a shift from Switzerland's policy of neutrality."
Ruag AG submitted an export request to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) on June 27 for the re-sale of 96 used and non-operational Leopard 1 A5 tanks. The tanks are currently in storage in Italy, and would require refurbishment in Germany before being re-exported elsewhere.
The Leopard 1 was Germany's main battle tank up to the mid-1980s. It was manufactured from 1965 to 1984 and was in service with the Bundeswehr until 2010. More than ten countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Greece, Italy, Turkey and others, still have the tank on their armed forces' inventories. The Leopard 1 has been upgraded regularly, and a total of over 4,700 of its variants have been manufactured. The tank is armed with a 105-mm rifled gun, and its full ordnance payload includes 60 rounds. It is equipped with an optical stereoscopic range-finding system, a binocular sight, a monocular night sight, and a telescopic sight. Its road speed is 62 km/h and it has an operational range of 600 kilometers.