German Foreign Minister Heiko Sisters on Tuesday, June 1, effectively rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request to Berlin to supply arms to Kiev in order to counter Russia’s military aggression.
During the NATO conference in Brussels, the German Foreign Minister expressed confidence that the conflict in Eastern Ukraine could be resolved only at the political level, adding that this finding served as a guideline for the German government.
“Arms supplies will not help that,” the German foreign minister said.
He added that since 2014, Berlin has allocated almost two billion euros to Ukraine in the framework of civilian assistance projects and that Germany, together with France, continues to support Kiev in negotiations with Moscow in the so-called Normandy format.
In an interview published in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Tuesday, Zelensky accused Berlin of not wanting to supply weapons to Ukraine.
“Germany has not provided us with any military assistance, although it could,” the Ukrainian president said, adding that torpedoes, patrol boats, assault rifles, walkie-talkies and armored personnel carriers would be useful for Ukrainians.
He emphasized that he was grateful for the support provided by Germany so far, but expected more.
Robert Habek, the leader of the opposition German Greens, also acknowledged that Kiev needed “defense weapons” during a recent visit to Kiev, and Zelensky said in an interview that Habek “understands” Ukrainians.
However, Habek’s statements within the party’s own ranks have caused controversy, as the Greens have traditionally opposed any involvement of Germany in military conflicts outside the country’s borders.-
A day later, Habek himself tried to soften his remarks by saying that he had talked more about “non-lethal armaments” such as night vision devices, reconnaissance drones and medical devices.
At the same time, the German export rules do not distinguish between ‘defense’ and ‘attack’ weapons.
Other German politicians have also condemned Habek’s remarks, claiming that they confirm his misunderstanding of the geopolitical reality and cast doubt on the Greens’ readiness to work in government.
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