SWITZERLAND’S neutrality, a principle of the its foreign policy for over 500 years, could be ditched following a government-commissioned report advocating co-operation with the US-led Nato war alliance.

A committee of “experts” was appointed by Defence & Security Minister Viola Amherd, who also chairs the country’s seven-member federal presidency this year. Its report, published on Thursday, has been described as a “bombshell” for advocating military co-operation with other states for the first time since 1515.

The authors cited Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine as a reason to reconsider Switzerland’s traditional stance, though that was maintained through far larger conflicts including both world wars.