Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected criticism that his country was not showing leadership in western efforts to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons to repel Russia’s invasion, saying that he’d rather be cautious than make hasty decisions, Reuters reports.
Scholz has come under significant pressure at home and abroad to supply Ukraine with heavy arms such as tanks and howitzers and support an immediate EU embargo on Russian energy imports to strip President Vladimir Putin of hard currency that helps him finance the war.
“I take my decisions fast and in concert with our partners,” Scholz told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview. “I find hasty actions and maverick German efforts questionable.”
In a U-turn, Germany approved on April 26th the delivery of “Gepard” anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine, a step backed by 55% of Germans who in an opinion poll said Europe’s biggest economy should supply Ukraine with such arms.
Germans have reacted to Scholz’s handling of the war situation unfavourably: an opinion poll published in Bild am Sonntag showed that 54% were unsatisfied with Scholz’s handling of the crisis. His approval rating fell to 32%, the poll showed.
Image (Gerard): By Derwatz, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/…
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