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Vitaly Klitschko
Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP
Kiev's Mayor Vitali Klitschko has spoken of a huge disappointment in his country about the German government's adherence to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and a ban on the supply of weapons in the Ukraine conflict.
"This is failure to provide assistance and betrayal of friends in a dramatic situation in which our country is threatened by Russian troops from several borders," Klitschko wrote in a guest article for the "Bild" newspaper.
According to Klitschko, many wondered whether the German government was “on the side of freedom” or “on the side of the aggressor”.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had previously criticized the German government's refusal to supply arms to his country.
Ukraine had recently asked Germany several times for arms deliveries.
Berlin had repeatedly rejected this.
With regard to Nord Stream 2, representatives of the federal government, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), recently emphasized that in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, all possible sanctions would be up for discussion.
Klitschko also called for a ban on lobbying for former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
"Clear signals are now needed from the most important country in Europe," wrote Klitschko.
“Germany should ensure that lobbyists like former chancellor Gerhard Schröder are forbidden by law to continue working for the Russian regime.
Those would be sanctions that would really hurt many.” Schröder is the head of the Nord Stream supervisory board.
At Nord Stream 2 he is Chairman of the Board of Directors.
cop/dpa/Reutes
