German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would not prohibit Ukrainian attacks on Russian military targets, saying Ukraine “is allowed to defend itself.”
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the French President Emmanuel Macron showed their joint support for Ukraine during a Franco-German defence and security council in Meseberg on Tuesday.
Whilst Chancellor Scholz had previously been firm on Ukraine not using Western weapons to strike Russian targets, he made a step in the direction of Macron, on the third and last day of the French president’s historic state visit to Germany.
Both leaders put their disagreements aside and compromised on the divisive subject of EU defence.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the French President Emmanuel Macron showed their joint support for Ukraine during a Franco-German defence and security council in Meseberg on Tuesday.
Whilst Chancellor Scholz had previously been firm on Ukraine not using Western weapons to strike Russian targets, he made a step in the direction of Macron, on the third and last day of the French president’s historic state visit to Germany.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of “serious consequences” if Western countries allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to strike targets in Russia.
For his part, Emmanuel Macron sought to bury the hatchet with Berlin after the latter initiated a European anti-missile shield project, without including Paris.
While Macron supports greater European independence in defence and wants to shield the economy from ‘unfair’ Chinese and American competition, Scholz underlines the significance of transatlantic ties and trade relations with China.
The goal of the historic state visit was to show a united Franco-German front as both leaders face predicted defeats at the hands of far-right parties less than two weeks before the European elections.
The original article contains 455 words, the summary contains 181 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!