Habeck moment on Ukraine arms deliveries to the FDP?
MEPs deviate from coalition line
Created: 01/19/2022, 12:12 p.m
By: Cindy Boden
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) and Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the Bundestag © Malte Ossowski/Sven Simon/Imago
The Ukraine conflict threatens to escalate.
In this specific case, an FDP expert is thinking about certain weapons deliveries - although something completely different was agreed.
Berlin - Western countries are currently wringing their hands to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine.
Foreign ministers and heads of government travel around for talks.
Is there a diplomatic solution?
The chair of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), was now open to certain arms deliveries to Ukraine: "The delivery of defensive arms could be a way to support Ukraine," she told the
t-online
portal .
Ukraine crisis: FDP defense expert Strack-Zimmermann on defensive weapons - different line than in the coalition agreement
"We agreed in our coalition agreement that no weapons should be delivered to crisis areas," said the FDP politician, but added directly: "In view of the current situation and the impact on our continent, we should reconsider this in a specific case." the coalition partners there?
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) reiterated his refusal to supply arms to Ukraine on Tuesday.
“The German federal government has been pursuing a similar strategy on this issue for many years.
And that includes not exporting lethal weapons," he said.
"That has not changed with the change of government that took place in December last year."
Lethal weapons mean deadly weapons such as machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades or warships or combat aircraft.
Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had already rejected arms deliveries during her visit to Kiev on Monday.
In mid-2021, a statement by Robert Habeck about certain weapons deliveries caused quite a stir.
The Greens rowed back at the time.
Video: Baerbock promotes de-escalation in the Ukraine conflict in Russia
Ukraine demands weapons from Germany - CDU politicians will not refuse please
Ukraine has been demanding arms deliveries from Germany for years in order to be able to defend itself against a possible Russian attack - so far without success.
Great Britain announced on Monday that it would supply the former Soviet republic with light anti-tank weapons.
Other NATO countries also supply the country.
The CDU politician Henning Otte, on the other hand, told
Bild
on the subject: "If Ukraine asks for defensive weapons in order to be able to ward off a possible Russian attack, we must not refuse this request." Hiding behind a "restrictive armaments policy from the coalition agreement “, is not a responsible policy.
Otte made it clear that the delivery of anti-aircraft missiles is also an option for him.
Nord Stream 2 also leverage?
If necessary, Chancellor Scholz sees “everything on the table”
FDP politician Strack-Zimmermann sharply criticized Russia's President Vladimir Putin. “The Russian President lives in the past - and wants to go back there. In a way, he dreams of a Soviet Union 2.0,” she said.
(Traffic lights ahead of big tasks - you can find out what the SPD, Greens and FDP are planning in our political newsletter.)
In the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine, Strack-Zimmermann assumes that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project will also be stopped.
The former Federal Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) was previously considered a staunch supporter of Nord Stream 2. But now the SPD politician also pointed out that the security of Ukraine and its energy supply had always been a prerequisite for the project.
"If Russia attacks Ukraine, then of course there will be no Nord Stream 2."
In this regard, Scholz emphasized on Tuesday in Madrid that "everything is on the table" in the event of aggression.
It must now be made clear to the Russian side with a view to a military escalation: "That will be expensive," Gabriel said again.
(AFP/dpa/cibo)