Chancellor Scholz expects a security agreement between Germany and Ukraine to be concluded soon. He announced this after a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Fico.
Germany wants to conclude a security agreement with Ukraine soon. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this after a meeting with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. He is also counting on all 27 EU states to commit to a 50 billion euro package of financial aid at the special EU summit next week.
“I have the feeling that we are now close to a final negotiation,” said Scholz, referring to the security agreement. He spoke very intensively about the topic with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and will continue the conversation shortly. “The security partnership played a major role in this,” emphasized the Chancellor. “That’s why I assume that we will finalize this soon.”
Scholz appeals to EU states
The security agreement is about guarantees for Ukraine even after the war with Russia ends. Other states are also negotiating with Ukraine about such security guarantees.
The Chancellor is also calling on EU partners to provide increased military aid to Ukraine. “Our common signal to Russia must therefore be that we will support Ukraine, which is fighting for its life and the preservation of sovereignty, for as long as necessary,” he emphasized and called for the EU and NATO states to join forces on this issue.
Possible solution to Taurus conflict
Meanwhile, there are also signs of a solution for cruise missiles for the country invaded by Russia: According to media information, Germany may want to participate in the delivery of cruise missiles to Ukraine through a ring swap.
Accordingly, there are considerations about supplying the Bundeswehr’s “Taurus” cruise missiles to NATO partners such as Great Britain and France. In return, these countries would then export their cruise missiles to Ukraine. The “Handelsblatt” reported, citing diplomats and government representatives, that Great Britain had already offered to supply Ukraine with more of its Storm Shadow cruise missiles in return for Taurus.
Ukraine officially asked the federal government for “Taurus” cruise missiles in May last year. The weapons can hit targets up to 500 kilometers away with great precision. At the beginning of October, Scholz decided not to deliver any of these cruise missiles to Ukraine for the time being. The fear behind this is that Russian territory could also be hit.
Fico: Financial aid, but not military aid
At the press conference in Berlin, Scholz and Fico emphasized that they wanted to continue to operate the repair hub in Slovakia for German weapons used in Ukraine. He also hopes that at the EU special summit next week an agreement will be reached on financial aid for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros until 2027, said Scholz. Fico strongly supported this.
Fico rejected the accusation that his country does not provide sufficient support to Ukraine. He supports both the EU’s financial aid and the commitment to EU accession talks with Kiev, even though Ukraine has not yet made much progress with its reforms. His government is also striving for energy cooperation with Ukraine. He is also “confident” that the EU will reach agreement on billions in aid for Ukraine at its special summit on February 1st.
However, the country must meet all the criteria for joining the EU. “An unprepared country can bring more trouble than good to the EU,” he said. As a neighbor of Ukraine, Slovakia “sees some things differently,” said Fico.
Sharp criticism of Ukraine
Fico opposes Ukraine joining NATO and military aid to the country and recently declared that Ukraine is “not an independent and sovereign country” and is “fully under the influence and control of the United States.”
At the press conference with Scholz, with regard to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, he said that he did not believe “that this conflict can be resolved militarily.” He does not expect any major changes in the war in 2024. “The only answer was war,” Fico said. But he doesn’t know what will change in 2025, there will just be more deaths.