< /p> German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaking to members of the Bundestag, February 8, 2023.
Berlin – Public disputes over the supply of weapons to Ukraine harm the united stance of the West and serve Russian propaganda. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated this today in a speech before the upcoming summit of the European Union before the members of the Bundestag. He also said that President Vladimir Putin's Russia had started the war in Ukraine and could end it immediately. Scholz promised Kyiv further German support and assured him that Ukraine's future lies in the European Union.
Advertisement'; }
“What harms our unity is the public trumping up of the motto: tanks, ships, planes, who asks for more. It harms substantive and public political statements and criticism of partners and allies,” said Scholz, according to whom Russian propaganda exploits such disputes. “Germany will not participate in something like this,” he said.
For weeks, Germany faced pressure from a number of countries, as well as some German officials, to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks. Berlin finally agreed to supply them. Before the decision, Scholz repeatedly stressed that Germany would always act together with the Allies to avoid escalating the conflict. The chancellor repeated this in parliament today.
According to the chancellor, Berlin adheres to three principles. The first of them is that it will not allow a country to seize the territory of another state by force, which would shake the security arrangement of Europe. “Secondly, we will not make any decision that would make NATO a party to the conflict,” he said. The third principle is close coordination of the progress with the allies.
Scholz promised Kiev additional aid, including military aid, because, according to him, Putin must not succeed with his imperial plans. “It continues to be true that Ukraine is part of Europe and that Ukraine's future lies in the European Union,” he added.
