diplomacy
Scholz wants to counter Russian propaganda in front of the UN
Will speak next Tuesday evening before the UN General Assembly: Olaf Scholz. photo
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
According to government circles, Russia is trying to sweep the breach of international law it has committed under the carpet. Chancellor Scholz wants to speak plainly to the UN General Assembly next week.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to counter Russian propaganda in connection with the war of aggression against Ukraine in his first speech to the UN General Assembly.
In his speech on Tuesday evening (local time) in New York, Scholz will clearly describe the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he described as a turning point, as a breach of international law, government circles in Berlin said on Friday. Scholz will make a commitment to the value-based multilateral order and the UN Charter.
The war of opinions waged by Moscow should not be underestimated, government circles warned. Russia is trying to sweep the breach of international law it has committed under the carpet. Scholz wanted to counter this with elementary truths in connection with the war of aggression that Russia began on February 24.
Delivery of modern main battle tanks – is the USA putting pressure on?
At the same time, representations in government circles that the White House or the US government was putting pressure on Germany to deliver modern battle tanks, such as the Leopard 2, were contradicted. There were also no corresponding requests. On the contrary, there is great appreciation from the US side for what Germany is doing to support Ukraine. There is “no friction at all” here, it said.
In view of the Chancellor’s negative attitude towards the delivery of main battle tanks, it was said that no change was pending here. At the same time, however, it was emphasized that the chancellor had never said that he would never deliver tanks. Rather, he had always stated that the federal government was not going it alone. The fact is that there is currently no country that is supplying or planning to supply Western main battle tanks. In the long term, the goal remains that Ukraine can defend itself with a modern army.
A bilateral meeting between the Chancellor and US President Joe Biden is not planned according to government circles on the fringes of the General Assembly. Scholz will meet Biden on several occasions on a larger scale.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also wants to travel to the UN General Assembly this Tuesday. According to a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office, the Green politician wants to fly to New York on a scheduled flight. In government circles it was said whether there would be joint appointments by Scholz and Baerbock on the fringes of the UN assembly is still open.