Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Ukraine’s hopes of getting more advanced weaponry from its Western allies to use against Russia have met with a bump from Germany.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated that Germany would not send fighter jets to Ukraine
Meanwhile, Scholz was recently to deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other European countries to send their tanks, after weeks of heated debate and increased pressure from allies.
“I can only advise not to continue to have a bidding war in terms of weapons systems,” Scholz said in an interview with the newspaper daily mirrorquoted AFPMonday (30/1/2023).
“If, as soon as the decision (about the tanks) is made, the next debate starts in Germany, it is not taken seriously and undermines the confidence of citizens in the government’s decision.”
Previously, Scholz’s decision to greenlight the delivery of the tanks was accompanied by the US announcement that it would deliver 31 Abrams tanks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Berlin and Washington for the move, which was seen as a breakthrough in efforts to support the war-torn country.
But Zelensky was quick to stress that Ukraine needed more heavy weapons from its NATO allies to fend off Russian troops, including fighter jets and long-range missiles.
Scholz in the interview warned against escalating “risks of escalation”, with Moscow having strongly criticized the tank’s promise.
“There is no war between NATO and Russia. We will not allow such an escalation,” he said.
The chancellor added that it was “necessary” to continue talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The last phone call between the leaders occurred in early December.
“I will talk to Putin by phone again,” Scholz said.
“But of course it is also clear that as long as Russia continues to wage war with unabated aggression, the current situation will not change.”
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