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Germany and the United States tried to show their unity in handing over arms to Ukraine on Friday during a meeting between their leaders in Washington. Olaf Scholz and Joe Biden pledged to continue supporting kyiv for as long as it takes.
They will support Ukraine “as long as it is necessary.” Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a signal of unity to Russia from the White House this Friday, March 3.
This visit to the White House is the second by the German leader. The head of state had already visited the presidential headquarters on February 7, 2022. At that time, Russia was “accumulating its troops” on the Ukrainian border, Joe Biden recalled from the Oval Office, where the two leaders made brief statements to the press.
The West had promised to “respond” and “we have kept our word,” said the US president, thanking Olaf Scholz, who was sitting next to him.
“They have stepped forward” in support of kyiv, he said, as Germany recently agreed, after long hesitation, to deliver tanks to Ukraine.
Scholz said it was “very important” to send a “message” to Ukraine that “we will continue (supporting it) for as long as it takes.”
Tensions between Berlin and Washington
This meeting comes after several episodes of tug of war, such as Joe Biden’s frontal opposition since his election to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, carried out with Moscow.
But tensions have been rising recently over the issue of sending tanks to Ukraine. Germany finally agreed on January 26 to send a significant number of its Leopard tanks, a turning point in Western military support.
To get him to agree, the United States had to promise him heavy armor, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week.
Joe Biden had “originally decided not to send them because his military told him they would not be useful on the battlefield,” he explained on ‘ABC’.
The German government does not agree with this version, assuring that the discussions consisted of building a “common approach”, without Berlin forcing Washington’s hand.
US aid of 400 million dollars
The Kremlin criticized the meeting even before it took place.
“The United States continues its policy of increasing arms supplies to Ukraine and persuading its proteges to do the same,” US spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Friday.
The White House has just announced new military aid to Ukraine worth $400 million and made up mainly of ammunition.
with AFP
This article was adapted from its original in French