Germany will not supply Ukraine armament for being a zone of conflict. That is the red line to German arms exports and the response given by the Minister of Defense, Christine Lambrecht, the Government of Kiev.
In an interview with the 'Die Welt' newspaper, Lambrecht stated that the German Government aid to Ukraine is and will be in the form of medical assistance. "In February, a complete campaign hospital will be delivered, including the necessary training, all co-financed by Germany with 5.3 million euros," he said.
Lambrecht, from the Social Democratic Party, recalled that Germany has already supplied respirators to Ukraine and is serving the Ukrainian soldiers severely injured in hospitals of the Bundeswehr. "
"The German Government must do everything possible to unwind the crisis situation and the supply of arms would not be useful at this time. That is the consensus in the federal government," he explained. The same argument applies Germany in its exports, for example, Saudi Arabia, involved in the Yemen War.
The refusal of Germany to supply weapons, even if defensive, was already verbalized by the Outdoor Holder, Annalena Baerbock, before its American colleague, Antony Blinken. It became clear at the meeting that both maintained in Berlin, prior to the meeting in Geneva of Blinken and the Russian Serguey Lavrov, with those responsible for French and British diplomats.
The positioning of the coalition of the Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, does not seem to have echo in Kiev. The ambassador of him U in Germany, Andrij Melnyk, insists again and again in the need for the West in front of a Russian invasion. In statements to the economic newspaper 'Handelsblatt', Melnyk asked "urgently 100,000 helmets and protective vests for volunteers who have just enrolled to defend his homeland along with the armed forces."
The Ukrainian diplomat insisted that their country "will not hold on the attempt to convince the German Government and the opposition to supply defensive weapons to Ukraine."
The German refusal extends even to NATO. Already in December, the new Ukrainian defense minister climbed Germany for blocking the supply of weapons to Kiev through the Alliance. According to Oleksii Reznikov, Berlin already vetoed the purchase of anti-drone rifles and anti-sniper systems through the Acquisitions and NATO support agency. However, Germany had since yielded with the first element, after considering it not lethal. "They are still building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and at the same time blocking our defensive weapons. It is very unfair," said Reznikov, referring to the Russian gas pipeline that crosses the Baltic Sea to Germany and avoids existing supply routes through Ukraine.
Kiev has had problems covering the gaps in his military capabilities, but the allies fear that the supply of weapons can be considered a provocation, or even a pretext for an escalation, by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine urges urgency to acquire anti-missile and anti-aircraft systems, electronic warfare team and cyberdefense team. Given the German blockade of the acquisition of lethal equipment, a position adopted by the previous government of Angela Merkel, Reznikov said that Ukraine would seek to acquire weapons through bilateral agreements with allies, including United States, United Kingdom, Lithuania and Poland
On the other hand, the German Ministry of Transport considers that the deployment of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine does not mean a threat to air traffic. "At present, no conditions are given to issue a flight ban in Ukraine's airspace," according to ministry statements published in 'Welt AM Sonntag'. However, the evolution of the situation is the subject of a follow-fontinuous.
As for the start-up of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that connects Russia with Germany, Lambrecht rejected its start-up in case of a Russian attack on Ukraine. "The idea that a war may explode in the midst of Europe, initiated by Russia, while establishing economic cooperation, it is completely absurd," he said.
For the also Social Democrat and former Head of Government of Brandenburg, Mathias Platzeck, what is absurd is to talk about Nord Stream 2. "If a war explodes in Europe, the gas pipeline will be the youngest of the problems," he said.
Date Of Update: 22 January 2022, 12:20
