Patriot system can be scrapped, warns Swiss defence minister

The Swiss government could abandon the purchase of the United States Patriot air defence system, defence minister Martin Pfister has warned. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Switzerland has already suspended payments of the ordered system because of a delay in delivery. But last week, the government confirmed that the US was circumventing the freeze by transferring Swiss payments for F-35 fighter jets to the Patriot air defence system account. "A waiver is always an option in the event of a delay", said Pfister on the sidelines of a press conference. What this would mean for payments already made is still uncertain. "We are still working on the assumption that it will be delivered, but we don't know when," added Pfister. His department is negotiating all options with the US. "A possible abandonment is part of that, but we don't know the conditions." The redefinition of US priorities has "profoundly altered the contractual basis", said the Federal Council ...