German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees no danger in his latest change of direction in Ukrainian policy to allow Kiev to use German-supplied weapons to hit Russian territory.
“We are sure that it will not contribute to an escalation, because – as the American president has also described – it is only about being able to defend a big city like Kharkiv, for example,” Scholz said in an interview with the Bavarian radio station . Antenna Bayern on Monday. “And I think it makes sense to everyone that this should be possible.”
The decision was taken ‘carefully’ in collaboration with Germany’s ‘friends and allies’.
The German Chancellor emphasized that caution is required. “And the citizens of Germany can rely on that. I will not allow any pressure to convince me to make a decision that is not right and not timely.”
What should be done politically is “not based on the next talk show appearance, but on what can reasonably be done,” Scholz said.
On Friday, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced the German Chancellor’s decision to allow Ukraine, which is under attack by Moscow, to fire German-supplied weapons at military targets in Russia.
The day before, the US government had given Ukraine permission to use US weapons on a limited scale against targets on Russian territory.
Both Germany and the US justified this move with the recent Russian offensive against the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.
