Economics Minister Doris Leuthard is defending the government’s policy on weapons exports.

A group of 70 jurists recently criticized the Swiss government for selling arms to the U.S. and Germany.

The open letter by legal experts was published in the NZZ am Sonntag Sunday. It says Switzerland is violating its own new statute banning weapons sales to countries at war by exporting to countries on the ground in Afghanistan. They say that just because the UN has cautioned the countries’ role there, it doesn’t exempt those countries from the Swiss law on weapons exports.

Speaking to Radio Suisse Romande, Doris Leuthard says the government’s longstanding policy is unchanged.

She also questions the timing of the criticisms, as Swiss voters will be asked next month to decide on an initiative banning all weapons exports.

—Jordan Davis, World Radio Switzerland