2024-08-24 12:14:43
Germany is an important partner of Ukraine in the war against Russia. According to a media report, there are concerns that financial aid could decrease. The Ukrainian ambassador warns.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, has called on the German government not to let up in its support for Ukraine. Makeiev told the “Bild am Sonntag”: “The security of Europe depends on Germany’s ability and political will to continue to play a leading role in supporting Ukraine.” Ukraine hopes that the German government will find ways to finance common security needs and “that the Bundestag will speak its final word for the 2025 budget strongly and clearly.”
The background to this is a report in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” (FAS) according to which the German government will not release any additional money for military support for Ukraine for the time being. The newspaper cites a letter from Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) dated August 5th – it is also available to the German Press Agency. Instead, the hope is that Ukraine – as decided by the G7 states – can also be supported in the future with the help of interest from frozen Russian state assets.
On Saturday, however, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance announced that the ministry was prepared to examine the possibility of providing additional funds at short notice. “However, the additional requirements must be specifically reported and comprehensible in order to comply with all budgetary rules and to be able to ask the German Bundestag for approval on this basis,” the statement said. However, the Ministry of Finance has not yet received any specific notification of requirements for this. “Therefore, neither an examination nor a decision can be made.” The ministry is thus passing the ball to the Ministry of Defense.