Principal Olaf Scholes (SPD) says it wants to continue to promote international solidarity against Russia’s use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict. “It is always important to say loudly that nuclear weapons should not be used in this war,” Scholz said during a visit to Latvia. This should be one of the clear messages at the peace conference scheduled for mid-June in Switzerland, he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously ordered his military to use tactical nuclear weapons. Soldiers near the border should also participate Ukraine to be involved. The Russian military leadership’s announcement did not specify exactly where or when the first military exercise of its kind since the fall of the Soviet Union would take place.
The United States has criticized Russia’s announced nuclear ambitions
There is America Russia It was accused of “irresponsible rhetoric” regarding the reported maneuver. U.S. Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder said such announcements were “totally inappropriate” in the current security environment. At the same time, there are currently no signs of changes in “Russia’s strategic strike force formations,” and the United States continues to monitor the situation. John Kirby, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, issued a similar statement: “It is simply irresponsible and irresponsible for the leader of a major nuclear power to rock his ship the way he does about the use of nuclear weapons,” Kirby said. Looking at Putin.
In Riga, Scholz pointed out that China has also warned Russia against doing so in the past Nuclear weapons Used in the war against Ukraine. Russia’s dependence on China has increased sharply in recent years as a result of Western sanctions, and mutual trade has expanded significantly since the start of the war.
Therefore, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is currently on a state visit to Europe, is considered one of the few leaders who can influence Putin. French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula van der Leyen also recently called on Xi to use this influence. Putin Convince them to end the war.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas also said that they should not be affected by Russia’s nuclear threats. The purpose of the notification is to spread fear. “That’s why we shouldn’t give in to it,” Gallas said after the meeting with Schalls. At the same time, Kalas said that the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons cannot be completely ruled out. Russia has “done all kinds of crazy things” in the past, he said.
Schalls met with the heads of government of the three Baltic states in Riga, Latvia. There, he emphasized the unity within NATO that Putin had fueled with his attack on Ukraine. During the visit, Scholz also supported the EU’s plans to use revenues from frozen Russian state assets to finance arms purchases for Ukraine.
Scholz wants to buy global arms for faster delivery
The EU Commission had already announced its plans a few months ago. There are legal reservations about demands to fully confiscate some 200 billion euros of Russian state money frozen in the EU and hand it over to Ukraine. According to the Commission, the interest income thus generated can be utilized without any legal complications. This is probably an amount in the low single digit billions per year.
In Riga, Scholes demanded that 90 percent of this be used to supply arms to Ukraine. He called for the money not only to be used to buy weapons within the EU, but to buy them on the global market. “What is really important now is to be able to deliver weapons quickly, which will only happen once a new factory is built,” the chancellor said.
At the same time, Scholes, along with the heads of government of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, called for an expansion of European arms production. It has already been launched for ammunition and anti-aircraft systems, he said.
The Czech Republic also buys ammunition for Ukraine
The European Union announced at the end of last year that it wanted to deliver one million artillery shells to Ukraine by spring. However, this goal is far-fetched, which in addition to the temporarily interrupted supply of weapons from the United States, has led to a shortage of ammunition in the Ukrainian army and loss of territory.
As an alternative, the Czech Republic has been working for months to hand Ukraine 1.5 million shots on the world market. About 20 countries, including Germany, are helping to finance the initiative with nearly 600 million euros. Deliveries should begin by summer at the latest.
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Principal Olaf Scholes (SPD) says it wants to continue to promote international solidarity against Russia’s use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict. “It is always important to say loudly that nuclear weapons should not be used in this war,” Scholz said during a visit to Latvia. This should be one of the clear messages at the peace conference scheduled for mid-June in Switzerland, he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously ordered his military to use tactical nuclear weapons. Soldiers near the border should also participate Ukraine to be involved. The Russian military leadership’s announcement did not specify exactly where or when the first military exercise of its kind since the fall of the Soviet Union would take place.
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