After the tanks, will Berlin send combat planes to Ukraine? For Olaf Scholz, the answer is no. Germany will not deliver any to Ukraine, the German Chancellor said on Sunday, as kyiv demands even more weapons from the West to counter the Russian invasion.
After several weeks of hesitation, Berlin decided on Wednesday to send 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and to allow other European countries to supply similar tanks to kyiv.
Asked in an interview Sunday with the newspaper daily mirror on his reaction to a request from kyiv to receive fighter planes, Olaf Scholz kicked into touch: “The question of fighter planes does not even arise. I can only advise against getting into a constant bidding war when it comes to weapon systems.” “If as soon as a decision (on the tanks) is taken, a new debate starts in Germany” on something else, “this is not serious and undermines the confidence of the citizens in the decisions of the government”, he said. he adds.
“There is no war between NATO and Russia”
To justify his choice, Olaf Scholz also insisted on the “risk of escalation” with Moscow. “There is no war between NATO and Russia. We will not allow such an escalation,” he said.
According to him, it is also “necessary” to continue to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their last meeting dates back to the beginning of December. “I will again speak on the phone with Putin,” he said without specifying a deadline. “But of course, it is also clear that as long as Russia continues to wage war by relentlessly attacking (Ukraine), the current situation will not change.”