Paris (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, hopes to see a strong and sovereign Europe, he expressed ahead of arranged talks in Paris following indications that the US is no longer pursuing Europe’s input on concluding the Ukraine conflict.
German Chancellor will join the leaders of France, the UK, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands, as well as top officeholders from NATO and the European Union, to examine changes to the U.S. policy to Ukraine and threats to European security.
“We have to make sure that Europe overcomes the challenges of the future in a strong and sovereign manner and with its back straight,”
Scholz briefed journalists.
“I am certain that we will be able to develop a clear position,”
Scholz stated.
As reported by Reuters, a German government representative told reporters that no tangible outcomes were predicted from the summit. Answering the question of whether German soldiers could be deployed for a potential future peace mission in Ukraine, Scholz emphasised the significance of a strong Ukrainian army.
He further said,
“This will be a great task for Europe, for the U.S. and international alliance partners.”.
How is Scholz rejecting Ukraine’s demilitarisation?
A day earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Europeans would not back any peace process that excludes Ukraine or urges Ukraine’s demilitarisation.
“Ukraine must remain a democratic, sovereign nation—no decisions can be made over their heads. We as Europeans will not allow that to happen,”
Scholz stated during a TV debate.
“We’ll meet to agree on exactly that, and we won’t allow anyone to agree, for example, that Ukraine will be demilitarised. On the contrary, it needs a very strong army so that it won’t be attacked again,”
He stated, referring to Russia’s demands of enduring neutrality and demilitarisation of Kyiv.
He also emphasised that the Europeans must be engaged in Ukraine peace talks, given their status as the country’s primary economic and military partners.
