Berlin and Kyiv are close to agreeing on security guarantees – Scholz
Germany and Ukraine are close to agreeing on security guarantees.
This was stated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a joint press conference with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday in Berlin, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
Scholz confirmed that he is in an intensive exchange of views with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called him today and will have another conversation in the near future. During today's conversation, the issue of a "security partnership" played a major role, which is being intensively prepared by both countries.
"I assume that we will finalize this soon...I have a feeling that we are on the verge of final negotiations," the Chancellor said.
He promised to announce the details when the document is ready and signed.
On behalf of Germany, the chancellor assured that Berlin would support Ukraine as long as necessary, because this war threatens the very existence of the sovereign state of Ukraine, as evidenced by the outright imperialistic statements of Russian President Putin.
The Chancellor disagreed that the reason for the ongoing war is the lack of initiatives and negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. He reminded that by February 24, 2022, more than 200 meetings had taken place within the framework of the Minsk agreements and the Normandy format alone. This did not stop Russia from attacking the whole of Ukraine, Scholz recalled.
"No country wants peace more than Ukraine. But after two years of war, we must recognize that there is no easy solution (to end it)," the politician said.
Germany, he reminded, has allocated more than 7 billion euros in this year's budget for non-military support alone. And he expects other EU countries to increase their assistance.
The German prime minister hopes that the EU summit on February 1 will demonstrate the determination to stand by Ukraine.
