Zelensky’s demands ‘fell on deaf ears in Berlin’ – Bild
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has evaded Vladimir Zelensky’s questions on whether Kiev will be accepted into NATO, or receive long-range missiles from Berlin, Bild reported on Saturday, describing the Ukrainian leader’s trip across Europe to secure military support as a fiasco.
According to the German tabloid, Zelensky had two main goals in mind when he embarked on a whirlwind tour of meetings with Western leaders: obtaining permission to use foreign-made weapons – including still-undelivered German Taurus missiles to strike strategic targets deep in Russia – and the promise of a speedy NATO accession process.
However, Bild described the results as “pretty poor,” saying that the two Ukrainian demands “fell on deaf ears in Berlin.” While the chancellor “did not definitely say ‘no’, there was no positive response” from him either, the article said.
In another setback for Zelensky, he was unable to meet with US President Joe Biden, who remained stateside to monitor Category 5 Hurricane Milton as it ravaged Florida.
However, an unnamed Ukrainian insider quoted by Bild dismissed that as an “excuse,” claiming Biden did not want to raise the topic of the conflict at the peak of the US election cycle.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly asked Germany to provide long-range Taurus missiles, which can hit targets as far as 500km away. Despite heated debate and back-and-forth in Berlin on the issue, Scholz has so far refused to oblige, citing escalation concerns and arguing that the deliveries would only be “tenable” if Berlin could determine the targets itself, which would make it a direct participant in the hostilities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that if the West decides to allow Ukraine to use foreign-made long-range weapons to strike deep into Russia, it will mean that NATO is “waging war” against Moscow. He has also ordered an update of the national nuclear strategy to say that “aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state” shall be regarded as a “joint attack” and an action crossing the threshold for employing nuclear weapons.
Thousands of people have marched in Munich, Germany to call for an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the fighting in the Middle East.
The protest on Saturday was organized by the ver.di trade union, with the slogan: ‘You will not prepare me for war’.
The demonstrators urged the government in Berlin to stop arms shipments to Israel and Ukraine, and instead use the money for social needs at home.
Footage from Ruptly video agency shows protesters carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags and banners reading: “No 100 billion for armaments and war,” “Stop the genocide in Gaza,” and “Free Palestine.”
Some placards referred to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, with one saying: “No Taurus missiles in Ukraine.” Kiev has for months been pressuring German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to supply it with long-range Taurus missiles. But Scholz has so far been reluctant to do so, saying it poses “a great risk of escalation.”
An inflatable sculpture of arms holding a broken machine gun was also erected in Odeonsplatz in central Munich.
The ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon are “unacceptable,” Claudia Weber, the managing director of ver.di Munich, told the crowd. “Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel must finally come to a ceasefire, all warring parties must immediately stop firing on the civilian population.”
- The government in Berlin has allocated €28 billion in military assistance for Ukraine.
- Earlier this week, Scholz promised another €1.4 billion in aid as he met with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.
- “Germany is the strongest military supporter of Ukraine in Europe. It will stay that way. I can assure you of that,” the chancellor told Zelensky.
Moscow has warned that deliveries of weapons to Kiev by the US and EU nations will not prevent Russia from achieving its military goals in the conflict, but will merely prolong the fighting and increase the risk of a direct confrontation with NATO. According to Russian officials, the provision of arms, the sharing of intelligence, and the training of Ukrainian troops means that Western nations have already become de-facto parties to the conflict.
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