Chancellor Olaf Scholz currently sees no danger of Germany being drawn into the Ukraine war. Talks with Putin are controversial, he revealed.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has countered fears that Germany could be drawn into Russia’s war against Ukraine by supplying battle tanks. He told the “Bild am Sonntag”: “We have carefully weighed every delivery of arms, closely coordinated with our allies, above all with America. This joint approach prevents the war from escalating.” In telephone calls, he made it “very clear” to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia alone was responsible for the war.
“Putin didn’t threaten me or Germany,” Scholz told the “Bild am Sonntag” in an interview, according to a preliminary report. Rather, the talks are an exchange of controversial positions: “Our very different points of view on the war in Ukraine become very clear in our telephone calls.”
Putin allegations about tank deliveries
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a BBC interview published a few days ago that Putin had threatened him with a rocket attack in a telephone call in February 2022. Johnson said he took it more as a rhetorical tool. A spokesman for Putin had called Johnson’s account a lie and said Putin had made no such threat.
The federal government had promised Ukraine Leopard 2 tanks from Bundeswehr stocks. Other countries such as the USA had also announced that they would supply battle tanks to Kyiv. Scholz was heavily criticized for hesitating on the battle tank issue.
Putin had accused Germany of allowing itself to be drawn into a war with Russia. “It’s unbelievable, but it’s a fact: we’re being threatened again with the German Leopard tank,” said the Kremlin chief on Thursday. As in the Second World War, German weapons are being used to fight against Russia on Ukrainian soil. Contrary to what Putin portrayed, there were no Leopard tanks at the time.
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Asked about Putin’s statements, Scholz said: “His words are part of a series of abstruse historical comparisons that he uses to justify his attack on Ukraine. But this war cannot be justified by anything. Russia is waging a merciless war against Ukraine.” When asked whether there was an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that weapons from the West would only be used on Ukrainian territory and that Russia would not be attacked on its territory, Scholz said: “There is a consensus on that.”
