The sooner Vladimir Putin understands that the West is “in this for the long haul,” the sooner the war in Ukraine will end, the German Chancellor believes.
Western allies must take four steps to ensure that the war in Ukraine ends as soon as possible. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote this in an opinion column for The Wall Street Journal, published on the eve of his visit to the United States.
So, he believes that the first step, which should be the main one, is to provide additional financial and military support to Ukraine. In this context, he mentioned the recent decision of the Council of the EU to allocate 50 billion euros to our state over four years. The Chancellor called on his European colleagues to take the necessary budget decisions.
“Like the United States and other countries, Germany is ready to provide Kiev with long-term commitments and security agreements so that Ukraine can deter and defend itself against future Russian attacks. As a highly industrialized country and would-be EU member, Ukraine can maintain a well-equipped, modern army, if it succeeds in repelling Russian aggression. Such a prospect makes us all safer,” the chancellor wrote in a column titled A Russian victory in Ukraine would put us all at risk.
Second, the West must continue to move strategically on both sides of the Atlantic, Scholz said.
“Putin is trying to undermine our unity and turn our citizens against supporting Ukraine,” he stressed.
He said that other countries around the world are watching closely to see if these divisions can be exploited to their advantage and if disinformation campaigns can open up.
“We must prove them wrong by convincing citizens on both sides of the Atlantic that Russia’s success will make the world a more dangerous place. It will also strain our budgets and threaten the freedom and prosperity of everyone in ours,” said the chancellor. .
He assured that the West would resist any attempt to drag NATO into a war with Russia.
“Third, we do not see ourselves in a state of war with Russia and do not seek confrontation with it. We will resist any attempts to drag the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine,” said by Scholz.
Fourth, he said, NATO’s collective deterrence and defense must be credible.
“The sooner Putin understands that we are in for a long time, the sooner the war in Ukraine will end. The only way we can contribute to the establishment of a lasting peace is through our support, unity and determination. We must we will support Ukraine as long as necessary,” – summed up the German Chancellor.
As you know, US President Joe Biden and Olaf Scholz are scheduled to meet on February 9 to discuss aid to Ukraine. Correspondent.net examined the prospects for a meeting between the two leading allies of our state.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.