A year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, most Swiss are in favor of a rapprochement with NATO, the Swiss Defense Ministry said today.

A study published by the Swiss Military Academy and the Center for Security Studies at the Federal University of Technology Zurich 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 rapprochement with NATO.

“This is the first time the majority of the population has such an opinion,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

However, only 1/3 of respondents support Switzerland’s accession to NATO.

Switzerland cooperates with NATO within the framework of the Partnership for Peace program and the Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Council.

A year after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Swiss “are now more critical of neutrality and ready for more cooperation,” the federal defense ministry said in a statement.

Compared to January 2022, the principle of neutrality is less strongly supported, but still enjoys very broad support (91% out of 97%).

The majority of Swiss (57%, no yearly change) still support a policy of “differential neutrality”, whereby Switzerland can take a stand politically while remaining militarily neutral.

Kyiv, for its part, criticized Swiss neutrality.

The Swiss government has adopted European sanctions against Russia, but so far refuses to give the green light to the re-export of Swiss-made weapons to Ukraine.

According to APE-MPE, AFP