If the amount of aid to Ukraine is reduced, their ability to defend themselves will also be reduced, warns German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned on Sunday about the consequences of Germany’s reduction of financial aid intended for the supply of weapons to Ukraine. TASR informs according to the DPA agency.
Baerbock said this in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she is participating in a conference on Syria. As she stated, the German government spent almost seven billion euros last year on the procurement of weapons for Ukraine. If this amount is reduced to half or slightly more than half, Ukraine will be less able to defend itself, added the head of German diplomacy.
Spiegel magazine reported on Thursday that there is a split in the German government over further arms deliveries to Ukraine. According to him, Baerbock and Defense Minister Pistorius plan to mobilize another three billion euros for urgently needed arms supplies to Ukraine even before the early parliamentary elections, which will be held in Germany on February 23.
However, it follows from the article that outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz is blocking these plans, saying that he does not want to present a finished agreement to the next government, DPA quotes. A spokesman for the German government said on Friday that military aid to Ukraine is a permanent issue that the cabinet in Berlin constantly deals with and conducts internal discussions about.
