Germany's Olaf Scholz announces new large-scale financial & military aid to Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on August 11, announced additional large-scale financial and military assistance to Ukraine in its efforts to repel Russian troops. The war continues to necessitate far-reaching decisions to support Ukraine's independence struggle, Scholz said during his first summer press conference since taking office last year.

He said, "Breaking with previous practice by supplying weapons - very, very many, very far-reaching, very efficient weapon," adding that "we will continue to do so in the near future." Schloz went on to say, "We support Ukraine financially and we have prepared ourselves for the fact that the impact of this war affects the whole world, but of course also Europe and our country."

When asked if he would work to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin was held accountable for war crimes in Ukraine, Scholz only said that Putin was to blame for the conflict but did not provide a clear response. Further on being asked if he would welcome former chancellor Gerhard Schroder acting as an intermediary with Russia regarding a dispute over reduced gas deliveries, Scholz responded in a similarly evasive manner.

It "would be a commendable business" for Schroder to speak with Moscow about repaired turbine: Scholz

"I wouldn't know," he said, adding that it "would be a commendable business" for Schroder to speak with Moscow about a repaired turbine, which Russian authorities have cited as the reason for their decision to throttle gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany.

Berlin and Moscow are trading blame for why the turbine has been stuck in transit for weeks despite being ready to restart. Schroder, who served as Chancellor from 1998 to 2005, has been chastised for years for his involvement with Russian state-owned enterprises, and is known as a close personal friend of Putin.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, the pressure on Schroder to distance himself from Putin increased. Schroder finally announced his resignation from the Rosneft supervisory board in May. He also turned down a nomination for a position on Gazprom's supervisory board. However, Schroder has recently advocated resuming operations of the contentious Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, which had been halted due to the Russian invasion.

(With agency inputs)

Image: AP