Ukraine conflict: Scholz rejects Russia's claim

Created: 01/23/2022, 18:12

By: Sandra Kathe

In the conflict with Russia, Great Britain and the USA have supported Ukraine with arms.

Germany behaves cautiously - and is heavily criticized.

• The Ukraine conflict is causing tension.

  Russia's* troops are stationed on the Ukrainian border - an invasion is considered a possible scenario.

• Russia is demanding a guarantee from NATO that it will rule out Ukraine's accession.

  Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) firmly rejected the demand.

• Nevertheless, Germany's actions so far in the crisis have been criticized from many quarters.

• The news situation on the Ukraine conflict in the news ticker.

Kiev - In the midst of severe tensions in the Ukraine conflict, relations between Germany and Ukraine are also facing a crucial test. In addition to statements by the German naval chief Kay-Achim Schönbach, who has since resigned and who had campaigned for understanding towards Russia during an appearance in India, the rejected demand for arms deliveries from Germany is also causing conflicts between Berlin and Kiev.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked Germany for help since Russia has been stationing more and more military forces on the border with Ukraine.

Berlin wants to support the country with a field hospital in February, but there are no weapons, said Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD*) in the “Welt am Sonntag”.

"Weapons deliveries would not be helpful at the moment - that is the consensus in the federal government."

On the border with Russia, the Ukrainian military has been preparing for weeks against a possible Russian invasion.

The request for arms deliveries from Germany is now causing tension.

© Anatolii Stepanov/AFP

Ukraine conflict: Baerbock promotes peace negotiations, Scholz rejects criticism

In view of the severe tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the German government is likely to find Kiev's displeasure extremely inconvenient. Germany is mediating together with France in the Ukraine conflict that has been going on for eight years. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock* (Greens*) only campaigned on Wednesday (January 19, 2022) and Thursday in Kiev and Moscow for a speedy resumption of peace negotiations.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD) also rejected criticism that the federal government and, above all, his SPD, did not position themselves clearly enough towards Russia.

In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, he announced "that there would be high costs for Russia if there were military aggression against Ukraine."

Scholz nevertheless pleaded for a sense of proportion when it came to the threatened sanctions in the event of Russian aggression against Ukraine and pointed out that there was no measure “that would not have consequences for all of us”.

Scholz rejects Russia's demands for a NATO guarantee in the Ukraine conflict

Efforts to defuse the conflict have been going on for days in various talks.

The US* and its western allies are demanding a withdrawal of Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border.

In return, Moscow is demanding security guarantees and an end to the eastward expansion of the western military alliance NATO, which Russia sees as a threat.

In his talks with the Süddeutsche, Chancellor Scholz rejected Russia's demands to rule out Ukraine's accession to NATO and said the "guarantee" demanded by Russia could not exist: "Additional countries from Eastern Europe are expected to join NATO currently not on the agenda at all.

What is the Russian demand for?” Scholz said in an interview with the newspaper.

Conflict with Russia: Great Britain and USA supply Ukraine with weapons and ammunition

In contrast to the refused arms deliveries from Germany, the USA once again showed its willingness to provide military aid to Ukraine at the weekend.

Just a few hours after a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken* and his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov on Friday in Geneva, a US cargo plane landed at an airport in the capital Kiev.

According to the US Embassy in Kiev, there were 90 tons of cargo on board, including ammunition “for front-line defense”.

More deliveries should follow.

Great Britain* also recently supplied Ukraine with anti-tank weapons and thus angered the government of Vladimir Putin*.

Ukraine conflict: London warns of Russian conspiracy, Russia denies

The Foreign Office in London also claimed on Saturday that Russia wants to establish a pro-Russian government in Ukraine. Former Ukrainian MP Yevgeny Murayev was mentioned by the British side as a possible candidate for the leadership position. However, the candidate named by London as a potential Moscow governor has been on a Russian sanctions list since 2018.

The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the British account "nonsense".

On the Telegram news channel, she called on the Foreign Office in London to stop “provocative activities”.

The spread of this "disinformation" by the British media is once again proof "that the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, are exacerbating the situation around Ukraine".

(ska with dpa/AFP) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA