German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Ukraine “can count” on Berlin’s help, but insisted that that NATO would not engage in a direct military confrontation with Russia.
Addressing Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, Scholz responded to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy’s appeal for German support, saying Ukraine can count on our help.”
Scholz said that his government was doing all it could to help end Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“We will try everything we can until peace prevails again on our continent,” the chancellor said, mentioning his talks with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin as one effort to this end.
Scholz insisted, however, that NATO would not engage in a direct military confrontation with Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, saying the West would instead continue to tighten sanctions on Moscow.
“NATO will not become a party to the war,” Scholz said, adding that allies in the US and the EU supported this position. He reiterated that Germany will not support Kyiv’s demands for NATO-backed no-fly zone over Ukraine.
Scholz also called on President Putin to stop the war immediately, emphasizing that the Russian president needs to understand that his attack on Ukraine was not only “destroying that country but Russia’s future.”
Meanwhile, he said Europe would end its energy dependence on Russia but that to do so overnight would risk hundreds of thousands of jobs and entire industrial sectors.
“Sanctions should not hurt European states harder than the Russian leadership,” Scholz said.
Source: Agencies
