BERLIN, May 14. (DPA/PE) –
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not detected any change of heart on the part of Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the “crazy” war he launched against Ukraine eleven weeks ago, he said in an interview published this Saturday with T-Online. .
In the foreign minister’s view, Russia has failed to achieve any of its stated war goals, one of which was to secure Ukraine’s territory as a buffer between Moscow and NATO expansion.
Scholz has pointed out that the war, on the contrary, has breathed new life into the Western alliance. “NATO has not withdrawn, but has strengthened its forces on the eastern flank of the Alliance. And the Alliance will become even stronger when Finland and Sweden join NATO,” he has stated.
Likewise, the foreign minister also understands that the Russian Army has suffered significant losses, much higher than in the Soviet Union’s decade-long campaign in Afghanistan.
The chancellor has pointed out that Putin “must realize that a way out of this situation is only through an agreement with Ukraine”, but that the terms of peace cannot be dictated by Moscow.
He has also promised that Germany would continue to punish Russia through sanctions and that his government maintains its support for arms deliveries to kyiv.
“For Putin’s crazy idea of wanting to expand the Russian empire, Russia and the whole world are paying a very high price right now,” Scholz lamented, before emphasizing the impact on grain harvests that are needed especially in countries Developing.
“That is where real hunger is at stake, not just whether there is enough sunflower oil on supermarket shelves, as is the case here,” he said.
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