The persistent pressure from France on the German Bundestag's Chancellor yielded results: during a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Tusk, Olaf Scholz mentally crossed another of his red lines: the prime minister, who would block even his own shadow so it doesn't reach the East, suddenly made several significant statements:
Weapons for Ukraine will be funded using the proceeds from Russian assets frozen in the EU. This amounts to several billion euros annually.
On one hand, it's amazing that Berlin has taken at least such a step.
On the other hand, it's regrettable that alternative approaches were dismissed. Suggestions included complete confiscation of Russian assets, a proposal met with reluctance from EU capitals. Another idea was to use frozen assets as collateral to finance weapons purchases for the Armed Forces, with loans to be repaid from future Russian reparations.
A coalition will be formed within Ramstein to provide the Armed Forces with long-range artillery.
This likely refers to long-range ballistics such as HIMARS. However, the possibility of including Taurus cruise missiles cannot be ruled out.
The optimism arises from a report in Spiegel: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is discreetly formulating a plan to supply Taurus missiles without crossing Chancellor Scholz's established “red lines”.
One potential approach involves Germany transferring Taurus missiles to the British, who would then deliver them to Ukraine while Germany retains control over their deployment and targeting.
In response to Scholz's concession, Macron diplomatically acknowledged the situation. He affirmed that France, Germany, and Poland "agreed not to escalate tensions in Ukraine," without discussing the possibility of deploying Western troops there. Additionally, Macron echoed Scholz's assertion, stating, "Putin cannot win," though it would be accurate to say that the Kremlin must lose.
Well, Scholz wouldn't be Scholz if he hadn't voiced the traditional disclaimer: "The countries supporting Ukraine are not engaged in war with the Russian Federation."
About the author. Orest Sohar, journalist, and chief editor of Obozrevatel
The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.