Today at 19:43
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees as too soft the Group of 20 resolution on assessing Russia’s actions in its war against Ukraine, but at the same time defends his decision to refrain from handing Ukraine long-range capabilities at Germany’s disposal.
He said this at a press conference following the G20 Summit in Brazil, Ukrinform reports.
Scholz noted that at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the parties discussed the brutal war Russia has been waging against Ukraine for a thousand days, during which the Russian leader has allowed merciless bombing of Ukraine.
“These are a thousand days during which people have to suffer for the blind mania of greatness, for the intention to expand their country by force,” the chancellor noted.
In this regard, he called it “insufficient if the G20 fails to find clear words about Russia’s responsibility in this matter.”
“I would like it to be different,” Scholz said, explaining that it shows that geopolitical tensions are also felt in the G20 circle.
Answering the question whether his reluctance to donate long-range missiles to Ukraine has changed due to the fact that Berlin’s main partner, the USA, has made such a move, Scholz once again reiterated his unwavering position.
“The central challenge is to do everything we do with care. I have long decided that the handover of missiles would be, from my perspective, a mistake for multiple reasons,” the politician said.
As the most important reason – and the only one he spoke of – Scholz claimed the need to involve the German military in programming missiles to hit targets on Russian soil, which would imply direct participation, which Scholz pledges to avoid.
“That’s why I stand by my decision not to hand over such weapons,” the head of government said, at the same time assuring that Germany will remain the largest European donor of aid to Ukraine.
“I absolutely consciously decided to do everything so that Ukraine could rely on us,” said Scholz and reiterated his belief that his recent phone call with Vladimir Putin was the right move as one of the messages he sought to convey to the Kremlin chief was that it would be a mistake on Putin’s part to count on a decrease in support for Ukraine from Germany, Europe, and other partners.
“That’s why it’s important to end the war he started and withdraw troops,” Scholz said.
He also briefly commented on his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the summit’s sidelines. Without dwelling on the details of the one-on-one, Scholz said he focused on the Russia involving North Korean soldiers as a further escalation, which should also raise concerns for other Asian countries.
Earlier, Scholz told journalists that during his talks with Xi, he said that Germany, as well as the United States, France, and the UK, consider China’s arms supply to Russia unacceptable.
