In his speech to the German Bundestag, the German Chancellor urges China to refrain from supplying Russia with weapons. A peace deal over the heads of Ukrainians should not be allowed.
It was February 27, 2022 – three days after the start of the war in Ukraine – when Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, announced a 100 billion program to upgrade the Bundeswehr in a special session of the Bundestag. The first delivery of arms to Ukraine for the defense against Russia had already been decided the day before – a breach of taboo, a “turning point”, as Chancellor Scholz (SPD) also called it.
On Thursday, almost a year later, Scholz returned to speak in the German Bundestag. And he criticized China directly. Beijing should press Moscow to withdraw troops from the neighboring country. “Use your influence in Moscow to urge the withdrawal of Russian troops! And don’t hand over weapons to aggressor Russia!” Scholz said in his Bundestag government statement a year after his “Zeitenwende” speech.
Scholz praised the fact that China’s President Xi Jinping “unequivocally opposed any threat of nuclear weapons or even their use in Russia’s war against Ukraine”. This contributed to the de-escalation. It is good that China has recently repeated the clear message against the use of nuclear weapons in its twelve-point plan. However, he called it “disappointing” that Beijing was not more prepared at the most recent meeting of G20 finance ministers in India to reaffirm what had been the consensus at the G20 summit in Bali last year: “a clear condemnation of Russian attack.”
Scholz to Gun Delivery Critics: “Love of Peace Does Not Mean Submission”
The German chancellor rejected internal criticism of arms deliveries to Ukraine. There will be no peace deal over the heads of Ukrainians, he said. “You don’t create peace if you shout ‘Never again war’ here in Berlin – and at the same time demand that all arms deliveries to Ukraine be stopped,” he said. “Love of peace does not mean submission to a bigger neighbor. If Ukraine stopped defending itself, it wouldn’t be peace, it would be the end of Ukraine.”
Scholz confirmed that Germany will permanently meet NATO’s two percent target for defense spending. “The promise I made here on February 27 last year is valid,” Scholz told the Bundestag. In the German semaphore coalition and also within the SPD, it is still being discussed whether, in addition to the 100 billion euro pot for the Bundeswehr – a so-called special fund – the regular defense budget should also be increased by billions more.
(APA/dpa/Portal)