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“Expanding defense spending to 2% of GDP… We need to agree on EU military spending policy”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the 17th (local time) urged partners who promised to supply tanks to Ukraine to actually deliver on their promises.
“For this to happen, the countries that have agreed to supply Ukraine with tanks must actually fulfill their supply commitments,” he stressed.
Germany has announced that it will provide Ukrainian support for 14 Leopard 2 tanks, its main battle tank, and plans to deliver them to Ukraine at the end of next month.
Germany initially aimed to deliver 30 Leopard 2 tanks, equivalent to one battalion, in cooperation with partner countries, but other partners are taking a passive stance.
Prime Minister Scholz promised to continue to pay attention to the balance to avoid unnecessary escalation while providing all possible assistance to Ukraine.
He explained that the path of Ukraine aid is unprecedented as a nuclear power is waging an imperialist war of aggression for the first time in continental Europe.
Chancellor Scholz said, “We will continue to expand Germany’s defense spending to 2% of GDP,” and “The defense capacity of the German Bundeswehr will continue to be expanded.”
“The European Union (EU) must come together strategically in its arms policy,” he stressed.
Prime Minister Scholz, speaking after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s opening speech, said, “It would be nice if President Zelensky was with us today, because Ukraine belongs to a free and united Europe.”
He said he would support Ukraine’s fight until necessary, stressing that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s revisionism will not win.
/yunhap news