2024-02-09 23:29:00
10.02.2024 00:29
(Akt. 10.02.2024 00:40)
Scholz and Biden agree on Ukraine policy ©APA/AFP
After his conversation with US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed confidence that US military aid to Ukraine can be maintained. If it is not possible to reach a corresponding decision in the US Congress, the ability of the Ukrainian armed forces to defend their own country against Russian aggression would be threatened, Scholz warned on Friday after the conversation in the Oval Office of the White House.
The meeting lasted approximately one hour and 45 minutes. Scholz then said: He and his interlocutor were “very firmly convinced that this has to happen now, but also confident that the American Congress will ultimately make such a decision.” That would also be the right message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his hopes of a reduction in Western military aid to Ukraine are in vain. “Without the help of the USA, Ukraine has no chance of defending itself,” warned the German head of government.
The USA and Germany are by far Ukraine’s most important arms suppliers. Scholz estimates the value of the military equipment delivered and promised by Germany at more than 30 billion US dollars (28.3 billion euros). The USA states the extent of its military aid at 44 billion dollars (around 41 billion euros).
Both Scholz and Biden are currently struggling in different ways to maintain aid. At the beginning of the year, the Chancellor launched an initiative to encourage EU partners – especially economically strong ones such as France, Spain and Italy – to provide more support for the Ukrainian armed forces. The success so far has been moderate.
Biden, in turn, has been trying for months to get billions in new aid for Kiev through Congress. Former President Donald Trump’s Republicans are blocking this, but have recently signaled some willingness to move, at least in the Senate.
Biden and Scholz called on the US Congress, sometimes in drastic terms, to release billions of dollars in American military aid for Ukraine. It is outrageous that Congress is still refusing to do this, Biden said on Friday in Washington. “The failure of the United States Congress to support Ukraine amounts to criminal negligence,” criticized the President.
“For the question of whether Ukraine will be able to defend its own country, support from the United States is essential,” warned Scholz, who had met with US senators the evening before and called for a quick decision. It is a “sign of confidence” that the US Senate has now cleared the way for another vote, he said. “I don’t want to speculate how long it will take and whether it will take a few more attempts,” added the SPD politician. “But it would be good if that happened very soon.” It’s about a joint transatlantic message to the Russian President. It must be made clear to him that he cannot expect support for Ukraine to decrease. “Germany and the United States must play an important role in maintaining peace in the world.” Biden thanked the Chancellor for Germany’s leadership on the issue.
Looking at his conversation with the senators, Scholz said he had the impression that those who dealt with foreign and security policy in the US Congress knew the importance of the issue. The U.S. congressmen included Democrats Chris Coons, Chris Murphy, Jack Reed and Jeanne Shaheen and Republicans Jim Risch, Lindsay Graham, Dan Sullivan and Roger Wicker. The Chancellor wants to meet other US politicians at the Munich Security Conference next week.
US President Biden had previously recorded a partial success in Congress: The US Senate approved a bill for consideration that provides military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in the amount of 88.5 billion euros (95.34 billion dollars). . The approval of the House of Representatives, the second chamber of the US Congress, where Republicans are in the majority, is also very uncertain.
Scholz pointed out that the EU and its members are Ukraine’s largest financial supporters, with 84.4 billion euros ($91 billion). According to information from the Reuters news agency, Germany’s 28.3 billion euros in military aid are made up as follows: 1.64 billion euros were spent on military aid to Ukraine in 2022, 4.9 billion euros in 2023, and 7.1 billion euros this year be. There are also commitment authorizations for the years 2025 to 2028 amounting to around 2.9 billion euros and new commitment authorizations amounting to six billion euros. A replacement price of around 5.2 billion euros is set for the material from Bundeswehr stocks handed over to Ukraine, and 540 million euros for the training of Ukrainian soldiers.
Scholz accused Russian leader Vladimir Putin of spreading lies again in his most recent interview. He described the interview with the right-wing US talk show host Tucker Carlson as “ridiculous”. In the run-up to the meeting, Scholz had already taken a clear stance against Putin: The Kremlin boss was counting on a decrease in support from Western allies for Ukraine. “If we make it clear that this is a miscalculation, then that is the best contribution to peaceful development.” The war could end at any time, but not with Ukraine capitulating, he emphasized. Putin had told Carlson that the West had to slowly realize that the conflict over Ukraine could not be won militarily. Sooner or later this will lead to an agreement. “Once this realization has set in, they (the West) need to think about what to do next.”
Other topics discussed in the conversation between Biden and Scholz were the Middle East conflict and the Gaza war as well as the NATO summit in Washington in the summer. There was no press conference. The German side gave time reasons as an explanation for this. For at least a few minutes at the beginning of their conversation, the two wanted to present themselves to the public together in the Oval Office. On Friday morning, Scholz’s agenda for his visit to Washington is a breakfast with US entrepreneurs.
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