West will have to support Ukraine for years, says German chancellor

BERLIN (TASS) : The West will have support Ukraine for years, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday.

During a discussion organized as part of the Federal Government Open Day, he noted that some part of German society is against weapons supplies to Kiev but expressed confidence that the majority of Germans support the government’s actions. “We will have to provide support for a long time, for year, I am afraid. But it is important to do this. So, we need to weigh [each decision’ thoroughly,” he said.

“We don’t want the war between Russia and Ukraine <…> to escalate to a war between Russia and NATO,” Scholz stressed. “Bearing this in mind, coordination and thorough planning are important in the interests of the future.”

The chancellor recalled that Germany is second after the United States in terms of military assistance to Ukraine. He noted that if Berlin were afraid of irritating Moscow, it would be acting “in an absolutely different way.” “But it has been and will always be right to think over each decision, to think how weapons could be used, weather its use is expedient and what we are ready for in general, and do this in close coordination with our friends and allies,” Scholz said.

According to the German finance ministry, Germany’s assistance to Ukraine amounts to 22 billion euro. The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that the West’s weapons supplies to Kiev and its assistance in training Ukrainian troops only prolong the conflict and will not change the situation on the battlefield.