NChancellor Olaf Scholes, SPD, drew up the initial brief after a NATO summit on the alliance’s 75th anniversary. In particular, he addressed detailed decisions on strengthening Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Sholes rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request to remove all requirements for the use of Western weapons against the Russian border. “No one plans to change the current requirements and guidelines – for good reason,” Scholz said at the end of the NATO summit in Washington.
At the event, Zelenskyj called for the removal of all gun restrictions. “If we want to win and protect our country, all these restrictions must be removed,” he said. It primarily concerns military bases in the Russian interior, from which Monday’s rocket attacks on the capital Kiev came.
“If they attacked us and killed our children, it’s crazy to ask why they weren’t allowed to attack this military base,” Zelensky said. “If we want to win, if we want to win, if we want to save and protect our country, we have to remove all restrictions,” he added.
However, Scholz stressed this position: “Our job has always been to ensure maximum support for Ukraine, but prevent it from escalating into a war between Russia and NATO. That requires wisdom, clarity and determination.
Scholes backs Biden
In May, Ukraine’s most important allies, including Germany, allowed the country to attack military positions in a certain area of ​​Russian territory. It was intended to prevent Russian attacks on the large city of Kharkiv near the Russian border.
Nevertheless, the president defended NATO’s increased defense efforts against criticism. “We are dealing with a different, aggressive Russia,” Scholz told a NATO summit in Washington, “and that’s why NATO countries have decided not only to continue supporting Ukraine, but also to increase their defense spending and strengthen the east.”
At the same time, Scholz praises the US transfer of long-range weapons to Germany from 2026. Along with France and Great Britain, Germany will develop cruise missiles. Deterrence is necessary because of the restructuring of Russia. He endorsed Joe Biden after introducing Zelensky as “President Putin.” “Mistakes happen and if you look after everyone well enough, you will see enough,” Scholes said. It doesn’t change the content of Biden’s speech.
Christoph Heusken brushes up on the federal government’s crisis communication
However, Scholz received major pushback for his stance from Christoph Heusken, the head of the Munich Security Conference. He criticized not only him, but much of the federal government for his communications about the war in Ukraine. “In Germany, Defense Minister Tacheles talks about the fact that we have to prepare for war,” former foreign policy adviser Angela Merkel, CDU, told the German Press Agency in Washington. However, his cabinet colleagues still downplayed the seriousness of the situation.
“To this day I feel that most responsible politicians believe that they cannot provide a clean space for the population: “We are dealing with a Cold War-like occupation,” he lamented. “There is a certain reluctance and a belief that people cannot be expected to do this.”
Heusken said SPD Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who takes military issues very seriously and watches what Russia is doing, considered his words carefully. Pistorius observes how aggressive Russia is and Germany needs to find an answer.
Christoph Heusken, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC).
Source: dpa/Kay Nietfeld
“It doesn’t surprise me that he describes the latest cabinet decision on next year’s budget as ‘irritating’ because he sees his cabinet colleagues still underestimating the drama of the situation, namely Russia’s aggression.”
Heusken said Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is aiming to restore the old Soviet Union. “We still underestimate everything a little bit,” he complained: “We still content ourselves with our political statements in Germany. You are afraid to tell people clearly what is going on.
“You have to give people clean wine and tell them clearly the deals that Russia has broken, how Russia is arming itself, how Russia has deployed nuclear missiles in Kaliningrad that can reach Germany,” Heusken warned. “Ordinary Germans don’t know that.”
Putin has proven how aggressive he is. “It is right that we make decisions on our part now,” he said, noting that US cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers are planned for Germany from 2026. America wants to do so again. Weapons systems reach Russia for first time since Cold War station in Germany. Heusken insisted: “You can only negotiate with someone like Vladimir Putin from a position of strength.”
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