German chancellery defends record on sending arms to Ukraine | CPT PPP Coverage
Cryptopolytech (CPT) Public Press Pass (PPP)
News of the Day COVERAGE
200000048 – World Newser
•| #World |•| #Online |•| #Media |•| #Outlet |
View more Headlines & Breaking News here, as covered by cryptopolytech.com
German chancellery defends record on sending arms to Ukraine appeared on www.independent.co.uk by Via AP news wire.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman on Wednesday defended Berlin’s record on delivering arms to Ukraine after the vice chancellor, a rare prewar advocate of providing Kyiv with weapons, said this week he was “deeply ashamed” that it took Germany so long to shift its position.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is also Germany’s economy minister and responsible for energy, took a business delegation to Ukraine this week on his first trip to the country since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year.
In May 2021, Habeck — then a co-leader of Germany’s Green party, which was in opposition — visited Ukraine and called for the delivery of “defensive weapons.” His comment drew widespread criticism at the time, even within his own party.
A video clip of his Monday meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, posted on the Ukrainian leader’s Telegram channel, showed Habeck saying of Germany’s weapons deliveries to Ukraine, “We changed our position, but it took too long and was too late.”
“I think not all of the German politicians would say the same, but I feel deeply ashamed,” Habeck said. He stressed that part of his job over the past year has been “to help delivering weapons as fast and as many as we could, and this is an ongoing promise.”
Scholz’s government, which took office in December 2021, started giving Ukraine weapons shortly after Russia invaded the country. Although Germany has become continental Europe’s biggest supplier of arms to Ukraine, the German government and Scholz have continued to face periodic criticism for perceived reluctance to step up aid — notably ahead of a decision in January to supply battle tanks.
Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, on Wednesday defended the government’s approach.
“The chancellery is still firmly of the opinion that we have done exactly the right thing, always at the right time,” he told reporters in Berlin. Hebestreit pointed to the German leader’s oft-repeated principles of supporting Ukraine as strongly as possible, preventing a direct conflict between Russia and NATO, and acting in coordination with allies, “above all with our American partners and friends.”
Hebestreit said he didn’t want to comment on Habeck’s words, which “stand for themselves.”
FEATURED ‘News of the Day’, as reported by public domain newswires.
View ALL Headlines & Breaking News here.
Source Information (if available)
This article originally appeared on www.independent.co.uk by Via AP news wire – sharing via newswires in the public domain, repeatedly. News articles have become eerily similar to manufacturer descriptions.
We will happily entertain any content removal requests, simply reach out to us. In the interim, please perform due diligence and place any content you deem “privileged” behind a subscription and/or paywall.
CPT (CryptoPolyTech) PPP (Public Press Pass) Coverage features stories and headlines you may not otherwise see due to the manipulation of mass media.
First to share? If share image does not populate, please close the share box & re-open or reload page to load the image, Thanks!