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Chancellor’s comments travel repeated requests by Ukrainian politicians for combatant craft aft conflict tanks were pledged for the warfare against Russia.
Published On 29 Jan 2023
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has again pushed back against demands successful Germany and from Ukrainian officials for combatant jets to repel Russia’s invasion, urging Western nations not to articulation a “bidding war” for blase weapons.
Last week, Germany announced it volition present its Leopard 2 conflict tanks to Ukraine aft weeks of pressure from NATO and European Union allies.
“The information we’ve lone conscionable made a determination [on sending tanks] and already the adjacent statement [fighter jets] is firing up successful Germany – that conscionable seems frivolous and undermines people’s spot successful authorities decisions,” said Scholz successful an interview with the German paper Tagesspiegel connected Sunday.
“I tin lone counsel against entering a bidding warfare implicit weapons systems.”
Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has pressed Germany for dozens of its Tornado combat aircraft, and urged the planetary assemblage to articulation a “fighter pitchy coalition” for his country.
I person a originative connection to our German friends. The Bundeswehr has 93 Tornado multirole combat craft that volition beryllium decommissioned soon & replaced by F-35.
Though it’s an aged pitchy fighter, but inactive precise powerful. Why not to present these Tornados to Ukraine @Bundeskanzler? pic.twitter.com/KxTZdUQLAS
— Andrij Melnyk (@MelnykAndrij) January 15, 2023
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again asked Western nations to supply his state with much high-end weapons systems successful his regular code connected Saturday. Zelenskyy specifically mentioned the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).
“There tin beryllium nary taboo successful the proviso of weapons to support against Russian terror,” said Ukraine’s leader.
Russia past week condemned the transportation of NATO conflict tanks to Ukraine, calling it “direct and growing” evidence of United States and European engagement successful the war.
‘Keep talking’ with Putin
The German person besides said helium volition proceed to telephone Russian President Vladimir Putin, stressing the value of maintaining an unfastened transmission of connection successful bid to find an extremity to Russia’s warfare connected Ukraine.
Scholz said the code of the conversations was “not impolite, but our perspectives are of people wholly different”.
“And I volition continue to telephone Putin — due to the fact that we person to support talking to each other,” helium said.
The past telephone telephone to Putin was astatine the commencement of December. The Russian person said astatine the clip that the German and Western enactment connected Ukraine was “destructive” and called connected Berlin to rethink its approach.
The conversations, Scholz said, were often astir “concrete issues” specified arsenic captive exchanges, Ukrainian atom exports, and the destiny of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
“For maine it’s important that the conversations support coming backmost to the main point: however does the satellite get retired of this unspeakable situation? The information for that is clear: the withdrawal of Russian troops,” Scholz said successful the interview.
No ‘escalation’
Scholz besides warned that NATO should not beryllium dragged into a warfare with Moscow.
“A German chancellor who takes his oath of bureau earnestly indispensable bash everything to guarantee that Russia’s warfare against Ukraine does not crook into a warfare betwixt Russia and NATO,” helium stressed, adding helium volition not “allow specified an escalation”.
The Leopard 2 announcement, followed soon afterwards by a US pledge of M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv, infuriated the Kremlin.
“For now, determination are nary agreed talks [with Scholz] successful the schedule. Putin has been and remains unfastened to contacts,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted arsenic saying by RIA Novosti.
Germany is the second-largest donor of subject hardware to Ukraine aft the US, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, up of different European powers specified arsenic France and Britain.
Source
:
Al Jazeera and quality agencies
English (US)