Germany, which recently provided Ukraine with a EUR150 million loan, is rapidly preparing another such loan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the High-Level International Donor Conference for Ukraine in Warsaw on Thursday.
“We will provide much-needed liquidity to the budget of Ukraine. Recently, a special loan of EUR150 million was allocated. Another loan of EUR150 million is being prepared on an accelerated basis,” he said.
Scholz added that, as part of bilateral development cooperation, Germany had already provided EUR122 million to Ukraine to address the economic and social consequences of the war. “And we intend to provide another EUR140 million for development financing,” the chancellor said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that Germany supports Ukraine and “acts decisively.”
“Our goal must be that Ukraine can defend its sovereignty, its freedom and its democracy. We support them in this. We are acting prudently and adapting to the current situation. And we are acting decisively,” he tweeted.
As reported, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said last week that preparations had recently begun for the next EUR150 million loan from Germany, which will help support Ukraine’s macro-financial stability.
According to him, only in the second half of April, Germany received a EUR150 million loan to support small and medium-sized businesses, an agreement on which was reached back in March 2020.
“Minister Christian Lindner also noted that they are considering providing us with military support in the amount of EUR1 billion, but we expected from Germany no less financial support than that provided by the UK, Canada or the United States,” Marchenko said.
Peace, not secured by an appropriate agreement, will not free Russia from international sanctions, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“Russia is in a very difficult situation, the sanctions are causing serious damage to the Russian economy,” Scholz said in an interview with Spiegel.
A “cold peace” that is not secured by an agreement will not free Russia from sanctions,” the chancellor added.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany is studying the list of weapons requested by Ukraine and plans to “find out what can be supplied quickly.”
“The lists include anti-tank weapons and air defense weapons,” Scholz told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday following a video conference with US President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders.
According to him, weapons that the Ukrainian army already knows how to use should be supplied. At the same time, the chancellor stressed that the possibilities of the FRG to supply arms were “almost exhausted.”
Scholz also said that NATO would not interfere in the conflict in Ukraine.
“NATO will not interfere in the conflict,” he said.
In turn, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, speaking in the House of Commons, that “NATO’s long-term goal should be to strengthen and strengthen Ukraine to such a level that Russia will never dare to invade again.”
At the same time, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, following a video conference, said that the EU will create a special Ukraine Solidarity Fund, which will be used to support and restore Ukraine.
“We discussed with US President Joe Biden and like-minded partners a further coordinated response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. We discussed the need for further humanitarian, financial and military assistance. The EU will create a Solidarity Fund with Ukraine to immediately support and restore democratic Ukraine,” wrote the President of the European Council Charles Michel on Twitter.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed, in particular, anti-Russian sanctions, defense and financial support for Ukraine.
“Had a phone call with @OlafScholz. They stressed that all those responsible for war crimes must be identified and punished. We discussed anti-Russian sanctions, defense and financial support for Ukraine,” Zelensky tweeted.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed bilateral relations between the countries and Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine in a telephone conversation, the Anadolu agency reported on Monday.
“The Turkish President, in a conversation with the German Chancellor, noted the importance of strengthening relations between Turkey and Germany, supporting close cooperation at all levels,” the agency reports.
Erdogan also stressed Turkey’s efforts to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine due to the war unleashed by Russia. The President of Turkey has repeatedly taken the initiative to organize negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Turkish territory, and also noted that Turkey will be ready in the future to act as one of the guarantors of Ukraine’s security, but this issue needs to be studied in more detail.
