Switzerland To Decide On Resale Of 25 Decommissioned Leopard Tanks In Near Future - Bern

The Swiss government is planning to work out a stance on a possible resale of 25 decommissioned Leopard tanks to a German manufacturer in the near future, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Sunday.

In March, Germany sent a request to Switzerland for the purchase of Leopard 2 tanks. However, the Swiss legislation allows the sale of only decommissioned tanks and any sales deal is subject to parliamentary approval. Later in March, the Commission on Security Policy of the Swiss National Council approved the decommissioning of 25 Leopard 87 tanks, which made their sale to a German manufacturer possible.

"The parliament will certainly make an important decision here. The Federal Council has not yet taken any stance. It will consider this issue in the near future," Cassis told Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung.

The foreign minister also said that the government was closely monitoring the parliamentary discussions on the resale of 96 Leopard 2 tanks to Germany, although it had not held discussions on this initiative itself.