German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reiterated that NATO will not take part in the war in Ukraine, following the military invasion launched by Russia on February 24, the DPA reported on Friday.
“This would lead to a dramatic escalation of this difficult situation in Ukraine, which would pose great dangers,” Scholz told ZDF television. “That is why it would not be a responsible policy to do this now,” said the German chief executive, who stressed the need to prevent a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. “That is why there will be no decision now that will lead to the military involvement of NATO states in this confrontation,” Olaf Scholz said.
He underlined that the escalation of the situation in Ukraine requires a ceasefire and further negotiations on the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.
In his opinion, in the first stage, the agreed sanctions against Russia made their consequences felt.
“What is happening right now is a war against the Ukrainian people,” he added.
The German chancellor also said that he did not believe that a change of regime in Russia would solve the problems in the region, as democracy is something that must come from the people. “There is no one button you can press to fix all the issues. The only way is to persevere in creating a framework for negotiations and to find a consensus,” he concluded.
Ukraine asks Germany to deliver more weapons
In the meantime, the Ukrainian embassy in Berlin has called on the German government to deliver new weapons to help defend itself against the Russian army’s invasion. The request states that Vadimir Putin has started a “war of annihilation” against Ukraine, with modern weapons systems, including banned weapons, such as cluster munitions.
In the week following the outbreak of the conflict, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government dropped Germany’s highly restrictive arms export policy and authorized direct arms deliveries to Ukraine to help it fight Russian forces.
Berlin has announced that it has already sent 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles from German army stocks. There are reports that 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missiles have been dispatched from the former East Germany, but this has not yet been confirmed.
German FM: Putin is leading his country to destruction
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people and warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is leading his country to destruction, the dpa reported on Friday.
“We will never abandon the Ukrainian people to chance,” Bearbock said shortly before boarding a meeting of NATO, G7 and EU foreign ministers.